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Kelvin Kiptum has shared what he wants to achieve in the 2024 season where he plans to compete in the Olympic Games and Rotteradam Marathon.
Newly crowned world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum will return to the NN Rotterdam Marathon on April 24, 2024, and he has shared what he wants to attain on his return there.
The 23-year-old ended his season with a bang at the Chicago Marathon where he broke Eliud Kipchoge’s world record time. Kiptum clocked 2:00:35 to completely obliterate Kipchoge’s record time of 2:01:09.
He is also the only athlete to have completed three marathons within 2:02:00. Hardloop Network spoke to the Kenyan super talent and asked why he chose Rotterdam and what his goals are in April.
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“This course is fast. In addition to the course, I also remember the atmosphere in Rotterdam. I wanted to run in Rotterdam in 2022, but due to an injury I had to cancel and postpone my debut in the marathon,” he recalled.
The London Marathon champion has so far won all his marathons and will not feature in a World Major Marathon next year but opts for the Marathon organized by his management.
He explained that 2024 will be a busy year for him considering he will also be focusing on the Olympic Games.
“2024 is an important year for me. I want to run fast in Rotterdam and get a medal during the Olympic Games in Paris.
"In Rotterdam, I want to break my personal record and therefore the world record. If I prepare well and the conditions are good, improvement is possible,” he said.
He also explained that he did not expect to break the world record in Chicago but he was grateful to have achieved the feat.
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When asked whether he would continue to run in many more marathons, Kiptum explained that he is still young and wants to make the most out of it.
“My career has only just started and I want to continue running for a long time. Things are going well now and I think I can handle even more, but it is good that my coach sometimes tells me to do a little less.
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"The new shoes also help me enormously to walk so many kilometers and to recover from them. I train all key sessions in shoes with a carbon plate. Track training, long endurance runs, and interval training,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the 1980s, Rotterdam was already the venue for setting a world record, with the start of Kiptum in the Dutch City, the return of the world record comes closer after 35 years.
If he marks a world record, he will be able to join the three athletes who previously finished the marathons with world record times. The athletes include Carlos Lopes (2:07:12, 1985), Belayneh Densamo (2:06:50, 1988) and Tegla Loroupe (2:20).
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Only three cities, Berlin, London, and Chicago, 'delivered' more world records. Rotterdam was the first city where both the men's and women's world records were set.
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