What happened to Eliud Kipchoge at the Paris Olympics? All about the reigning champion's shocking exit 

By Adityan Pillai

Modified Aug 11, 2024 01:21 GMT

Reigning Olympic Champion Eliud Kipchoge could not defend his marathon title in Paris. The Kenyan athlete took part in the quadrennial games in a quest to win his third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

Eliud Kipchoge did not finish his race thereby ending his dominance in the marathon. The Kenyan athlete was seen struggling to keep up with the pace of the leading pack after the 15th km of the race and ultimately dropped out after crossing the 30km mark in 1:39:38. The official results report him as DNF (did not finish).

Fans took to social media to express their thoughts on the Kenyan athlete's performance.

With videos posted on social media, the reigning Olympic Champion was seen walking during a part of the race as the crowd cheered him on before deciding to drop out of the contest.

Moments later, he officially dropped out of the race as officials came and escorted him in a van.

Eliud Kipchoge spoke about his race at the Paris Olympics and revealed the reason for dropping out.

“I had a pain in my back at about 20km and decided not to finish and try to get out. The hills didn’t affect me at all. The pain made me stop. I walked for 2km and had more than 300 people on either side of me walking with me. That’s why I don’t have my shirt, the socks, the shoes, the race number," he said.

Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola won the gold medal after clocking 2:06:26 and set a new Olympic record. The Ethiopian athlete dominated the race and took the lead moving away from the leading pack right after the 30km mark. Belgium's Bashir Abdi won the silver medal with a time of 2:06:47 and Kenya's Benson Kipruto took home the bronze medal after clocking 2:07:00.

The marathon course at the Paris Olympics was one of the most unconventional and tough courses with many uphills and turns which had a profound impact on the performance of the athletes

Eliud Kipchoge on competing at the Paris Olympics

Eliud Kipchoge -MARATHON: APR 17 127th Boston Marathon - Source: Getty

Eliud Kipchoge spoke about competing at the Paris Olympics in an interview with Olympics.com. The Kenyan athlete spoke about his preparation for the quadrennial games in Paris as well as his love for long-distance running.

“I like the long runs, because I am running for long. Makes my mind to really work hard for more than two hours. Makes me strong. It makes my mind strong, to be consistent, to respect that pain.Everything is a challenge, and everyday programme is a challenge. We have three big days in a week, and we put all our effort there.Pain is everywhere, but we say we win marathons in preparations, so the more you get a lot of pain, but you hit your targets in a good way,”he said,

Kipchoge spoke about overcoming setbacks in his illustrious career

“The road has been a bit bumpy, but we need to keep strong. I am learning how to handle the setbacks. A huge setback comes with huge repercussions and everything. Defeat is important for me in that I will learn more. I will learn how to handle the negative part.”

Furthermore, he expressed that handling a setback while being on the top of his game has been lonely and tough.