Understanding Eliud Kipchoge’s role at the next Olympic games

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games concluded on Sunday 11 August 2024. As the countdown to the 34th Olympiad in Los Angeles, the United States' second-most populous city after New York, begins, several talking points from the recently concluded Games are shaping expectations for Los Angeles 2028, now just 1,427 days away.

Among the key topics influencing expectations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games is the future of marathon great Eliud Kipchoge. His quest to win an unprecedented third consecutive gold medal in the men’s marathon did not go as planned in Paris.

The former world marathon record holder, who won gold in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, had to take a taxi to the finish line after a waist injury forced him to withdraw at the 30-kilometre mark, marking the first time he has failed to finish a marathon.

It was an anticlimactic end to the race for the 39-year-old Kenyan. Up to the 15-kilometre mark, when he began to feel the pain in his waist, Kipchoge was in contention to surpass Ethiopian Abebe Bikila (1960 and 1964) and East German Waldemar Cierpinski (1976 and 1980) in terms of gold medals in the Olympic men’s marathon. These three athletes remain the only ones to have won two gold medals in this event at the Olympics.

At the finish line, Kipchoge gave an interview to Olympics.com, confirming that he would not compete in the next Olympic Games. “You will see me in a different way, maybe giving people motivation, but I will not run,” Kipchoge said.

However, in typical fashion, Kipchoge, nicknamed "The Philosopher" due to his zen-like persona and penchant for speaking in parables, remained coy about whether he had officially ended his marathon career. “You cannot chase two rabbits at the same time. Paris was another rabbit, so I need to check for another rabbit, and that means going back to the drawing board to see what opportunities are there for me to grab,” he told Citizen TV in an interview shortly after his arrival at JKIA from Paris on Tuesday evening.

2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games Ambassador

While it remains to be seen whether Kipchoge will run another marathon, his chances of featuring prominently in the buildup to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games are high.

Kipchoge was one of the ambassadors for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, a role that saw him visit the French capital on several occasions to attend and participate in events aimed at promoting the 33rd Olympiad.

Los Angeles, the host of the 34th edition of the modern Olympic Games, has a reputation to live up to as the home of Hollywood, a district in the American West Coast city that is the centre of the American film industry.

Therefore, it goes without saying that the organisers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games will be eager to collaborate with famous personalities like Eliud Kipchoge, whose presence at promotional events will raise the profile of the competition and draw more public interest.

One of the biggest promotional events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games to look forward to is the start of the 1,000-day countdown on October 25, 2025, ahead of the Games’ official opening on July 14, 2028.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Kipchoge feature in this event, much like he did when the 1,000-day countdown to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games began on October 31, 2021.

Back then, Kipchoge visited the French capital to promote Marathon For All, an initiative by the organisers of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which opened participation in the 2024 Olympic marathon to the public.

On that occasion, Paris residents had the opportunity to race against Kipchoge over five kilometres. Those who finished the run before the Kenyan won a bib to participate in the mass-participation marathon race that took place on the same day and followed the same course as the 2024 Olympic marathon.

Kipchoge, due to his elite status, started that five-kilometre fun run last and with a time penalty. Paris residents, meanwhile, ran as fast as they could to ensure that he did not catch up with them, allowing them to win a bib to participate in the 2024 mass-participation Olympic marathon.

Ruto to Eliud Kipchoge

"We celebrate you coz you have taken us to many places and embraced kenya ,Run until the gas tells you its over"

Until the wheels goes off.

💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪

— Chotara Ndukhulu'mphela (@sam_makokha) August 15, 2024

Marathon For All, and Kipchoge’s involvement in its promotion, raised the profile of the marathon races at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games by making the general public part of the event in a special way.

“I am delighted to be heading to Paris 1,000 days before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for a truly exceptional challenge. Open to all, whatever their level, this unique race is a wonderful image of what running is about: accessible and open to everyone. On one of the most beautiful avenues in the world, I challenge you to not let me catch you! I look forward to sharing this moment with you and inspiring you to run, give it your all, push your limits, before we see each other again in 2024,” Kipchoge told Olympics.com in October 2021 about his involvement in the Marathon For All event.

The Los Angeles Marathon, held annually in February or March, is not as glamorous as the six World Marathon Majors held in Chicago, Berlin, Boston, London, New York, and Tokyo each year. Therefore, the organisers of the 2028 Los Angeles Games will likely attempt to come up with innovative ideas similar to Paris 2024’s Marathon For All to raise the race’s profile ahead of the 34th Olympiad. Who better to help them with this than Eliud Kipchoge?

Despite struggling in his last two marathon races—failing to finish at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and placing 10th at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon—Kipchoge’s status as the greatest marathoner the world has ever seen remains intact.

He has won the Berlin Marathon a record five times and the London Marathon four times, more than any other athlete. He has also run the most sub-2:03 marathons—five—in history, and only the late Kelvin Kiptum has run more sub-2:02 marathons—three—than Kipchoge’s two.

Though his successful completion of the INEOS 1:59 challenge in October 2019, when he ran a marathon in 1:59:40, does not count as a world record, Kipchoge remains the only person to have run a marathon in under two hours.

While he does not anticipate competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Kipchoge's promotion of the event, similar to his role for Paris 2024, would be a welcome involvement.

After all, it is the role he is most suited to. After failing to complete his race at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Kipchoge told Olympics.com, “I will not go into coaching. I have many other things to do other than being a coach. I have to travel around the world, around the countries to motivate people.”