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Kipchoge meets Obama to discuss transformative power of sport
Former US President Barack Obama with two-time Olympics marathon champion Eliud KIpchoge in Washington on November 7, 2025.
What you need to know:
- Kipchoge shared his commitment to inspiring and empowering the next generation through sports, education, and leadership.
- Kipchoge said he has deep admiration for Obama, describing the retired US President as a global advocate for unity.
Two-time Olympics marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, who is fresh from competing in the New Marathon, on Friday discussed the transformative power of sport with former US President Barack Obama.
During the meeting which took place in Washington, USA, Kipchoge shared with Obama his commitment to inspiring and empowering the next generation through sports, education, and leadership.
A statement released afterwards by Kipchoge’s management, Global Sports Communications, Kipchoge said he has deep admiration for Obama, describing the retired US President as a global advocate for unity, who has remained humble and disciplined throughout his career, the very values that Kipchoge himself lives by.
“Meeting President Obama a moment I will treasure. It strengthens my resolve to inspire those around me as we strive towards a united world,” Kipchoge said in a statement.
During the meeting, Kipchoge and Obama, who are both leaders on their own right, engaged in thoughtful conversations on leadership, legacy, and the vital role that young people play in shaping the future.
“Our conversation was one of reflection and shared purpose about leadership, legacy, and how the next generation can rise through sport, education and service,” Kipchoge said.
They explored possible collaborative initiatives between Eliud Kipchoge Foundation, and the Obama Foundation.
Both organisations aim to champion youth leadership, expand educational access, and harness sport’s transformative power to inspire young people to believe that no dream is too distant, and no beginning too small.
Former US President Barack Obama with two-time Olympics marathon champion Eliud KIpchoge in Washington on November 7, 2025.
“We share a vision of hope and possibility, believing that through partnership, we can create meaningful change,” Kipchoge, who finished 17th in the New York Marathon on November 2, observed.
On the other hand, President Obama thanked Kipchoge on his Instagram page.
"Thanks for those kind words. It was great meeting you, Eliud!" Obama wrote.
Kipchoge he has completed all the seven Abbott World Marathon Majors, a rare feat that cements his legacy in an athletics career which started more than a decade ago.
Upon finishing the race, an emotional Kipchoge received medals for completing six star races which comprise of Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon and New York Marathon.
On August 30, 2025, Kipchoge competed in the Sydney Marathon, which was this year included in the WMM series for the first time. He finished ninth.
For a man who has broken barriers, including becoming the first man to run a marathon in under two hours, Kipchoge’s participation in a race now carries as much meaning as victory.
After competing in New York City Marathon, Kipchoge announced a new phase of his athletics career.
“Seven marathons on all seven continents, together with you! With this World Tour, I want to continue to push myself to run at my best but I also want to inspire, give back and remind everyone that no human is limited in every corner of the world. I believe that we can all come together and become a better world,” Kipchoge wrote on his social media pages on November 2.
Kipchoge is widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time.
Since making his debut over the distance in 2013 Harmburg Marathon, he has dominated the marathon races globally, winning two Olympic gold medals in 2020 and 2024.
Kipchoge won 12 of the 17 major marathons he competed in, including winning London Marathon four times, and triumphing five times in the Berlin Marathon.
In 2019 in Vienna, Kipchoge became the first human to run a marathon in under two hours (1:59:40) in a highly choreographed race dubbed “INEOS 1:59 Challenge”.
Kipchoge also set the marathon world record twice at the Berlin Marathon – first in 2018 when he managed to clock 2:01:39, and then lowered that mark again to 2:01:09.
The late Kelvin Kiptum lowered Kipchoge’s record, the 24-year-old running 2:00:35 in Chicago Marathon to become the first man to run 42km in less than 2 hours and two minutes.
