‘No one expected’ – Kenenisa Bekele in awe of Kiptum’s new world marathon record

Ethiopian legendary long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele has admitted that no one expected newcomer Kelvin Kiptum to break a world marathon record so soon.

Bekele, in light of the new record set by the 23-year-old Chepkorio-born star during the Chicago Marathon, said a sub-2-hour marathon is now possible. A sub-2-hour run was once deemed impossible in the marathon, but with recent records by Eliud Kipchoge and Kiptum, it is now fairly possible.

Bekele in awe

“No one expected Kelvin Kiptum, a newcomer, to run 2:00 in his third marathon. Nobody expected it. But after running like that, maybe he himself can run under two hours next time, or maybe somebody else will come and surprise us.

“I didn’t think someone would be running 2:00 hours or 2:0 something this soon… It surprised everyone,” Bekele said of the new mark, which only Kipchoge had beaten in 2019 in a time trial in Vienna, as quoted by Olympics.com.

The 41-year-old, who is a famous and successful track and cross country runner, expects the marathon finishing times to get even quicker because of the improved technology on shoes and also because of the influx of younger athletes stepping up.

"Marathon's training is really very difficult. Every day you train long runs in the hard training, so when you are 24 years old and when you are 40 years old, it's not the same.

"Recovery-wise, the body will not recover easily. When I was 24 years old, I didn’t feel any tiredness, and my body after one or two hours felt fresh. Now I need more recovery time," he added.

Bekele's ambitions

Bekele won the 10,000m gold and a silver in the 5000m at his first Olympics in Athens in 2004, and since then he has remained ambitious for more titles as he aims higher and higher, especially in the upcoming Paris Games in 2024.

“I have so many goals still. I want to try the [Masters] world record in the future. At this moment, the Olympics are also in front of us. I really want to participate in the marathon at the Olympics.

“I'll try my best, but it’s not going to be easy," he added.

Although it is a stiff competition to qualify for the Olympic Games in Ethiopia, Bekele is hopeful of making it into the squad.

"[Qualifying for the] Olympics in Ethiopia is a big challenge. There are many athletes who qualify for the Olympics. They are fast and strong because we have many athletes at the same level who qualify for selection," he added.

Should Bekele be named in Ethiopia's team to Paris late in the year, he will potentially run against Kiptum and Kipchoge.