Eliud Kipchoge/ HANDOUTTwo-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge will chase another landmark moment when he lines up at Sunday's Cape Town Marathon in South Africa.
Kipchoge touched down in South Africa on Tuesday evening, fired up to lend his star power to the race’s push of becoming Africa’s first Abbott World Marathon Majors competition.
“Cape Town is a beautiful city and I hope it will be a beautiful race on Sunday where we bring all the people out to run in the streets,” Kipchoge said.
The marathon great's vision stretches beyond the finish line.
“I want to help this event grow to 60,000 participants and help it become a Major. As an African, I’m rooting for it, I’m pushing for it,” he said.
“We don’t have a Major marathon in Africa yet, but this is a growing continent and it is our time as Africans to have Cape Town as one of the World Majors."
Cape Town is Kipchoge's launch pad in his quest to run in all seven continents over the next two years, using the journey to inspire people to embrace healthier lifestyles while celebrating the universal language of distance running.
Kipchoge arrives in Cape Town with a resume that reads like a chronicle of marathon greatness.
In addition to his two Olympic gold medals, conquering Rio de Janeiro in 2016 (2:08:44) and Tokyo in 2020 (2:08:38), he remains the most decorated athlete on the Abbott World Marathon Majors circuit with 11 victories.
His dominance in Berlin is the stuff of legend, boasting five titles from 2015 (2:04:00), 2017 (2:03:32), 2018 (2:01:39), 2022 (2:01:09) and 2023 (2:02:42) and a runner-up finish in 2023 (2:03:23).
He holds four triumphs in London 2015 (2:04:42), 2016 (2:03:05), 2018 (2:04:17) and 2019 (2:02:37), Chicago 2014 (2:04:11) and Tokyo 2021(2:02:40).
He lowered the world record twice at the Berlin Marathon — 2:01:39 in 2018 and 2:01:09 in 2022 — before the mark was eclipsed by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago 2023 (2:00:35) and later by Sabastian Sawe in London 2026 (1:59:40).
Kipchoge was also the first man to breach the mythical two-hour barrier, albeit unofficially, clocking 1:59:40 at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna.
On Sunday, Kipchoge will be joined by 2024 Daegu Marathon champion Stephen Kiprop and Paris Marathon winner Bernard Biwott.
Standing in their path is 2023 World Championships silver medallist Maru Teferi.
Meanwhile, the evergreen Edna Kiplagat, now 46, brings her own aura of excellence and longevity to Cape Town.
She is a two-time world champion from Daegu 2011 (2:28:43) and Moscow 2013(2:25:44).
Her decorated career includes Boston Marathon victories in 2017 (2:21:52) and 2021 (2:25:09), as well as triumphs in New York in 2010 (2:28:20) and London in 2014 (2:20:19).
She has also finished runner-up multiple times in London (2011, 2012 and 2013), Chicago (2016) and Boston (2019), underlining her remarkable staying power at the elite level.
Kiplagat will line up against formidable opposition, including 2020 Tokyo marathon champion Lonah Salpeter and 2025 Xiamen Marathon winner Ruti Aga.
