World record holder Eliud Kipchoge is to make another attempt at breaking two hours for the marathon later this year, probably in the United Kingdom. Here are some key facts about the Kenyan athlete: EARLY LIFE *Born Nov. 5, 1984 in Kapsisiywa, Nandi District of Kenya. *He met his trainer Patrick Sang, a former Olympic medallist in the steeplechase, in 2001 at the age of 16. *In 2002, he finished fifth at the World Cross Country Championships individual junior race in Dublin and was part of the Kenyan team that won gold. *Set a world junior record in 5,000 metres at the 2003 Bislett Games, which stood as world and African record until 2012. TRACK CAREER *Kipchoge won a gold medal at the 5000m final at the 2003 World Championships in Paris. *Won the 5,000m bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics. *He won 5,000m silver at the 2007 World Championships at Osaka, behind Bernard Lagat. *Kipchoge won 5,000m silver at the 2008 Beijing Games, behind Kenenisa Bekele. *Made his Diamond League debut in 2010 by winning the 5,000m Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix. *Finished second behind Ugandan runner Moses Kipsiro in the 5,000m final at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. MOVE TO ROAD EVENTS *Made his half marathon debut at the 2012 Lille Half Marathon, where he finished third. His time of 59:25 became the second fastest half marathon debut, only second to Moses Mosop's 59:20 in Milan in 2010. *Opened 2013 season with a win at the Barcelona Half Marathon before making a smooth transition to full marathons by taking the Hamburg title in April. *He raced in the 2013 Berlin Marathon and he finished second in 2:04:05, then the fifth-fastest time in history, in his second ever marathon. *Kipchoge won the Berlin title in 2015 even though the insoles of his shoes came loose, causing blistered feet. *Won back-to-back London Marathon titles in 2015 and 2016. His 2016 run broke the course record, and became the second-fastest marathon time in history. *Won marathon gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in a time of 2:08:44. *In May 2017, Kipchoge, along with Zersenay Tadese (world record holder in the half marathon) and Lelisa Desisa (twice Boston Marathon winner), attempted the first sub-two-hour assisted marathon, in the Nike Breaking2 project on the Monza Formula One racetrack near in Italy. *Kipchoge finished in 2:00:25, while the other two had to slow and finished far behind. *Won the 2017 Berlin Marathon in rainy conditions, ahead of debutant Guye Adola. *Kipchoge won the 2018 London Marathon against a field that included four-times Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah and Bekele. *He retained his Berlin Marathon title in Sept. 2018, breaking the previous world record by 1 minute and 18 seconds. *Won the 2019 London Marathon in a time of 2:02:37, the second fastest marathon of all time.
