Will distance running legends Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia win or finish the New York Marathon on Sunday?
Kipchoge, the two-time Olympic marathon champion, and Bekele, the two-time Olympic 10,000 metres champion, will face off for the umpteenth time in the American city.
Kipchoge, who has won 11 World Marathon Majors races, will make his New York debut, while Bekele, with only two series wins, will make his second appearance after finishing sixth in 2021.
Ethiopia’s distance running legend Kenenisa Bekele speaks with a race official upon arrival at the JFK Airport in New York on November 3, 2021 ahead of New York City Marathon.
Photo credit: Elias Makori | Nation Media Group
Although pundits speculate that this could be the last time the two legends face off since their first meeting over two decades ago, neither has officially announced retirement plans.
Many thought last year's Paris Olympics would be their last showdown, with Bekele finishing 39th and Kipchoge failing to finish. However, the "Big Apple" is now proving irresistible.
Kipchoge was aiming to make history by becoming the first person to win three consecutive Olympic marathons, after his victories in Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020.
The New York City Marathon organizers have roped in Bekele after Kenya's Evans Chebet, who won in 2022 before claiming silver in 2024 in the city, withdrew.
Do these legends, who share a total of 83 years, still have something left to offer?
Forget the impending clash of the Paris Olympics marathon bronze medallist, Benson Kipruto; the 2024 London marathon champion, Alexander Mutiso; and the newly crowned world marathon champion, Alfred Simbu, from Tanzania. All the cameras will be on the “Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi” of distance running.
Kipchoge and Bekele first met at a World Championship event in Paris in 2003. Their most recent meeting took place during the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics, also in Paris. For two decades, the duo has continued to define and transform distance running.
They are rivals, with Kipchoge dominating marathons, setting the world record twice, and Bekele excelling in track events, setting the world record twice in both the 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter races.
Kipchoge, 40, is widely regarded as the greatest marathoner of all time, even without his well-publicised but unofficial sub-two-hour marathon time of 2:00:25 in Monza, Italy, in 2017 and his historic Ineos Challenge time of 1:59:41 in Vienna, Austria, in 2019.
Bekele, 43, might not have won as many Olympic and world titles as Briton Mo Farah, nor as many world records as his compatriot Haile Gebrselassie, but he is arguably the greatest all-around distance runner of all time.
The two have raced together many times, with Bekele outclassing Kipchoge in almost all track events. In 2003, at the Oslo Bislett Games, Bekele won the 5,000-metre race in 12:52:26, finishing ahead of Kipchoge.
Kipchoge got his revenge against Bekele during their second meeting at the 2003 World Championships when he took gold in the 5,000 metres race, and Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj took second. Bekele took bronze, but he won gold in the 10,000 metres at the same event.
Kipchoge had to settle for bronze in the same event, while Bekele took silver and El Guerrouj claimed gold at the Athens Olympics a year later. The Ethiopian went on to win gold in the 10,000 metres race.
Four years later, at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Bekele reigned supreme again, beating Kipchoge to take gold in the 5,000 metres. Bekele secured a double victory by defending his 10,000 metres title.
Since switching to the marathon in 2013, Kipchoge has asserted himself by winning his debut marathon in Hamburg and 11 other major races, including five in Berlin and four in London, as well as two Olympic gold medals. His victories included world-record-breaking streaks of 2:01:39 in Berlin in 2018, making him the first man to run under two hours and two minutes, and 2:01:09 in Berlin in 2022.
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge crosses the finish line to win the men's race at the London Marathon on April 28, 2019.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
In April 2014, Bekele produced the sixth-fastest marathon debut in Paris. However, injuries have plagued his career since then. He has two World Marathon Major victories: in Berlin in 2016 and 2019.
Before their showdown in Paris last year, where Bekele was returning to the Olympics after 12 years, Bekele and Kipchoge last met at the 2018 London Marathon, where Kipchoge won and Bekele placed sixth. Kipchoge’s last race was on August 3 at the Sydney Marathon, the newest addition to the World Marathon Majors series. He finished ninth.
Kipchoge’s dream has been to run in all six of the World Marathon Majors—London, Tokyo, Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Berlin—before Sydney's addition made it seven.
"As a marathoner, it's good to have a six-star because that's when you can call yourself a real marathon runner," said Kipchoge.
He said that he is currently working on his mental fitness, "because I still have the miles and kilometres in my muscles".
“I am just awakening and sharpening the muscles again, so nothing is different from what I have been doing. My preparations are the same as before,” he explained.
Kipchoge hopes to see everyone watching as he runs through the streets and over the bridges of New York City against the backdrop of the best crowd.
