“It was a tough race I could not achieve what I expected because I had planned to run 2:03 and below but it was impossible. In the absence of top marathoners like Kipchoge, who graced the 2022 edition as a guest, Bekele was the pre-race favourite but failed to make it to the podium, blaming it to the weather. “Eliud (Kipchoge) has already achieved in marathon, he is a great marathon runner no question about that, I respect him, I am happy for him, he has achieved in marathon better than all of us, I congratulate him, he motivates all of us,” Bekele, who is a two-time Berlin Marathon champion told Capital Sport in London.
The one and only Dr.LONDON, United Kingdom, Oct 2 – Ethiopia’s long-distance star Kenenisa Bekele has hailed legendary Eliud Kipchoge who he recognized as the Greatest Marathoner of All Time (G.O.A.T).īekele, who returned to London this year, seeking to win it for the first time, came short only managing a disappointing fifth-place finish in a race won by Kenyan Amos Kipruto on Sunday. His personal best of two hours one minute 41 seconds is second only to Kipchoge, while Kenyan 23-year-old Kiptum produced the fastest marathon debut in history as he claimed victory in Valencia in December in 2:01:53.īoth Ethiopians Legese (2:02:48) and Geremew (2:02:55) have also run under Kipruto's winning time of 2:04:39 last October. However, the 40-year-old could only finish fifth at his fifth London Marathon last year. Two-time Berlin Marathon winner Bekele, runner-up in London in 2017, is considered one of the greatest distance runners of all time. World record holder Eliud Kipchoge, a four-time winner in London, is absent from the line-up - instead targeting his Boston Marathon debut. The London Marathon returns to its pre-pandemic spring slot in 2023 for the first time in three years and will be broadcast live on BBC TV, iPlayer and online. London Marathon boosts wheelchair prize potīritain's four-time Olympic track champion Mo Farah will also compete as he prepares to say an "emotional goodbye" at the event. "London always has a really strong field and this year is the same so I know I will face a battle to defend my title, but I'm confident and looking forward to it," the 30-year-old added. 
"I can't wait to return to London as the champion," said Kenya's Kipruto. Returning 2022 winner Amos Kipruto will also face competition from world champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia.
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