Kiptum is the marathon world record holder whether Kipchoge likes it or not...for now
Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya celebrates after winning the 2023 Chicago Marathon professional men's division and setting a world record marathon time of 2:00.35 on October 08, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.
If Kiptum triumphs over Eliud and becomes the man who finishes the marathon in under two hours, unassisted, it won’t be because Eliud offered or didn’t offer congratulatory words
Yes, Eliud Kipchoge has worn criticism as the ultimate colleague from hell. Yes, the macho culture of the African (Kenyan) man where they constantly play a game of don’t-show-emotion is killing us all.
And yes, a simple message of congratulations from a former marathon record holder to the new record breaker is both polite and necessary. But, this is not the most important lesson emerging from Eliud Kipchoge’s failure, nay, refusal, to applaud his fellow countryman Kelvin Kiptum for breaking the marathon world record.
