As the two legends go toe-to-toe at this year’s London Marathon, we look at how they stack up against each other:
Name: Eliud Kipchoge
Age: 34
Height: 1.67m
Weight: 56kg
Country: Kenya
Olympic medals: Three (gold, silver, bronze)
Marathon wins: 11
Marathon PB: 2:01:39 (WR)
In his words: ‘I am looking forward to racing Sir Mo Farah again. He is a great champion and proved in Chicago that he can win a Major marathon, so I relish the battle with him.’
Name: How to taper right to be marathon ready
Height: 1.75
Weight: 60kg
Country: Great Britain
Olympic medals: 4 (all gold)
Marathon wins: 1
Marathon PB: 2:05:11 (ER)
In his words: ‘Eliud has the world record, but [at London] I’d have the crowd cheering me down the home straight – and that’s the big difference.’
Why Kipchoge will win…
That world record run
When London Marathon 2019 - everything you need to know, he didn’t just beat the previous world record of 2:02:57 – he shattered it. His time works out at an average of 4:38min/miling. Scarier still? His final 5K was his fastest of the race. In London, Kipchoge could theoretically go through halfway in just over an hour, and then speed up. Is Mo scared of him? ‘I have a lot of respect for Eliud,’ Mo told the London Evening Standard, ‘but do I fear him? No. And do I think I can beat him? Yes.’
His Zen-like calm
Kipchoge’s graceful stride is one thing, but the quality that sets the Kenyan apart from his peers may be between his ears. ‘I’ve been fortunate enough to meet both of them,’ says running coach Tom Craggs. ‘You can’t get to that level without having incredible discipline and mental focus in your training. Eliud, though… there’s something about his New womens-only world record set in London that, for me, makes him the most impressive male distance athlete I’ve ever come across – particularly at the marathon.’
A wealth of experience
While Farah is relatively new to this marathon malarkey, Kipchoge has bags of experience. London will be his 13th marathon, and he’ll be hoping to make it 12 wins out of 13. His only defeat so far came against his compatriot, Wilson Kipsang, at Berlin in 2013, where Kipchoge placed second. He’s been there, done that, got the world record. And he’s bound to be at the action end of the race in London.
Why Mo can win…
Home advantage
Mo’s already won the London Marathon three times. OK, not the full-length adult race, but the mini-London Marathon, as a schoolboy. This will be home fixture for Mo, who came to Hounslow from Somalia aged eight. Just as home support Kipchoge ran 2:01:39 in Berlin in September 2018, can it have a decisive impact on the streets of the capital this April? Mo thinks so. ‘Eliud has the world record, but [at London] I’d have the crowd cheering me down the home straight,’ he has said, ‘and that’s the big difference.’
Mo’s marathon improvement
When Mo’s maiden marathon outing, at London in 2014, failed to go to live up to expectations (he finished eighth in a time of 2:08:21), there were those who declared him ill-suited to the distance. Four years on, he’s proved his doubters wrong. His most recent marathon, in Chicago last October, was a masterclass and resulted in How to use the London Marathon tracker app. ‘I have to admit, I was surprised by how well Mo ran his last marathon,’ says Craggs. ‘Mo is a fabulous athlete, but there have been very few athletes who have had the range that Mo has had – from 1500m right through to the marathon.’ Is Mo ready to surprise a few more people by beating the best of the best in April?
The sprint finish
Hands up who’s ever run a 52-second lap of a track? Keep your hand in the air if you’ve done it 9.6km into a 10km race. Mo has – and Kipchoge will be wary of his rival’s famed sprint finish. ‘If you’re Eliud, and Mo is with you with 5K to go, you’re going to start to get worried, aren’t you?’ says Craggs. ‘Because we know about Mo’s ability to inject pace late in a race. His whole career has been based upon his ability to close races like nobody else.’ If he can close this one in April, it really will be the greatest finish of his career.
