Kipchoge vows to come back stronger

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge has assured he will bounce back from the shock defeat he suffered at the 40th edition of the London Marathon early this month.

Speaking after signing a new partnership deal with motor vehicle assembler Isuzu East Africa Monday, the Olympic champion vowed to come back stronger.

Kipchoge who will be eyeing to defend his title in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, said his London performance should not, in any way, fuel worries he is about to start slowing down.

“As much as my fans and friends wanted me to win this time round it was not to be and in such a scenario one can do two things; one can decide to mourn the loss and never to compete again and secondly one can go back to train harder and come back stronger,” he said.

Kipchoge who was the pre-race favourite failed to defend his title in the English capital as he finished a distant eighth in a race won by Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata. For the first time in his marathon career, the 35-year old marathon king suffered a setback and was unable to overcome it.

“I’m a big fan of all kind of sports and in football for example, you can be in good position to score but you fail, a favourite in motorsport competition but the engine fails…that’s how sports is and I have gone back to the drawing board and I will emerge strong again,” he added.

Under the new agreement which runs for another year, the motor vehicle assembler will work with the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation to elevate the wellbeing of the community through access to education, sports talent development and environmental conservation.

Through the Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme, Isuzu has committed to support Kipchoge in the construction of a Sh100 million library in his home village of Kapsisiywa, Nandi County.

“Life is not about competition and earning but life is about giving back …I always believe that if you are winning or losing and you don’t bring any impact to this world then you are doing nothing.”

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