Eliud Kipchoge to receive the Princess of Asturias Sports Award in Oviedo
Legendary Kenyan marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge will be receiving the prestigious Princess of Asturias Sports Award on Friday at Oviedo, the Spanish foundation announced on Thursday (19 October). He recently arrived at the Asturian capital to collect his award in the Sports category.
The award organization will celebrate the athlete’s contribution to the sports and social field by felicitating him with a token of appreciation. 38-year-old Eliud Kipchoge is the only marathoner in history to unofficially run 42.195 kilometers within less than two hours at 1:59:40 in 2019.
Although his contemporary Kelvin Kiptum officially achieved the two-hour mark at the Chicago Marathon at 2:00:35s on October 8, Kipchoge’s time stays unbeaten. Moreover, by winning the Berlin Marathon 2023 in September, the Kenyan athlete boasts 16 wins out of the 18 marathons that he has competed in his career so far.
Besides his brilliance in the athletic field, Kipchoge has been involved in social work and charity. His foundation, the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation, works to protect the environment and educate children within and outside Kenya.
Eliud Kipchoge’s dedicated work towards the social field and his achievements in athletics make him one of the several high-profile awardees at the 2023 Asturias Sports Awards. On his visit to Oviedo, the athlete will first attend a press conference and then head to the award show at the Campoamor Theater.
Among others, Kipchoge will be joined at the ceremony by renowned author and marathoner Haruki Murakami.
Eliud Kipchoge made subtle tweaks to his social media after Kelvin Kiptum broke his world record
In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge stunned the world by recording a timing of 1:59:40 at the Ineos159 Challenge in Vienna. For the first time, a marathoner broke the two-hour mark in a 42.195-kilometer-long track. However, his timing was not recognized by the World Athletics because Kipchoge supposedly used unfair measures to achieve it.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist used a special pacemaker and was frequently provided hydration by his team. Moreover, the championship was not even a competitive marathon. Later on, he set the world record with his timing of 2:01:09s at the 2022 Berlin Marathon.
Within a year, Kipchoge’s record was broken by Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon in 2:00:35s. After the 23-year-old became the new world champion, Kipchoge changed his bio on social media.
Before Kiptum’s achievement, the legendary marathoner’s bio read '1:59:40 | 2:01:09 WR| 2x Olympic Champion...'. However, after getting his world record broken, Kipchoge changed his bio to 1:59:40 | 2x Olympic Champion.'