Kipchoge is undisputed GOAT, world beater Cheptegei declares

Reigning World and Olympic 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei who has since graduated to marathon running has maintained his stand that Kenyan marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest of all time (GOAT).

There has been a debate on who is the GOAT (in the men’s field after Kenyan athlete Kelvin Kiptum shattered the marathon world record in Chicago as he beat compatriot Kipchoge’s previous mark by more than 30 seconds in October.

When Kipchoge produced the fastest time ever for the 42.2km distance, clocking 1:59:40.2 at the Ineos159 Challenge in Vienna in 2019, Cheptegei did not hide his joy describing the Kenyan marathon legend as the GOAT.

“Today history was made, a huge congratulation to the goat @EliudKipchoge upon inspiring humanity. For sure #NoHumanIsLimited,” Cheptegei wrote on his X page (formerly Twitter) after the race, adding: “You can do whatever your dream is only if you believe, 1:59:40 is absolutely phenomenal and will go down in history.”

The Ugandan athlete, who also holds a world record time in the 15km road race, has once again showered praise on Kipchoge, who is his role model, and further revealed his plans to apply some of Kipchoge’s running insights as he successfully transits from track to marathon.

“For me, Eliud (Kipchoge) is the greatest. He’s one of the guys that inspired me a lot when I was starting up my career and up to now, his legacy still inspires me a lot,” Cheptegei said as quoted by Olympic.com.
“We normally share whenever there’s an opportunity and I’m always grateful that his words have shaped me over the years, and he is always keeping an eye on me and guiding me in a good way.”

Cheptegei further hinted at quitting track for marathon where he could come face to face with Kipchoge by saying: “It looks like I’m almost done on the track, but not yet done. I am still in love with the 10,000m and still want to go to Paris and win the 10,000m. And maybe the outcome in Valencia will [determine] if I do the 10km and the marathon…It could be something to venture into.”

Kipchoge, who is the double Olympic champion, has claimed 12 major marathons in his astonishing career, which have earned him legendary status. Kipchoge, Bikila (1960 and 1964), and East Germany’s Waldemar Cierpinski (1976 and 1980) are the only runners to win consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games.

Kipchoge will be hoping to become the first man to twice defend an Olympic marathon title in Paris in 2024.