Veteran athlete Eliud Kipchoge has graciously accepted defeat following his 10th-place finish at the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday, February 3 in what was his worst performance in his 11-year career on the road.
The 39-year-old who was expected to dominate the race faded horrendously at around the 20km mark and crossed the line in 2:06:50 while fellow Kenyan Benson Kipruto won in a course-record 2:02:16 ahead of countrymen Timothy Kiplagat (2:02:55) and Vincent Ngetich (2:04:18).
Following his disappointing outing, Kipchoge admitted it was a bad day at the office while congratulating the winners.
“I can only say that sport is about good days and bad days. Unfortunately, today was a bad day for me. I want to congratulate all participants who reached the finish line, all pursuing their own goals and dreams,” Kipchoge posted on social media.
“Thank you, Tokyo, and to the fans around the world for all of your love and support! We take the lessons of today for the build-up of tomorrow.”
Kipchoge was returning to Tokyo since winning there in 2021 but he could not match the pace of his opponents despite being on pace to reclaim the world record at around the 15km mark.
The defeat according to analysts is going to push him to restrategise ahead of the other races including the Olympics.
