Eliud Kipchoge responds to Kelvin Kiptum breaking his marathon world record with subtle tweaks on his social media

Kenyan long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge recently made headlines for making slight changes on his social media after Kelvin Kiptum broke his world record at the Chicago Marathon 2023. The 38-year-old removed his world-record timing from 2019 in his Instagram bio after Kiptum surpassed it on October 8.

In 2019, Kipchoge made history by finishing up the marathon within two hours. He recorded an unbelievable timing of 1:59:40s. However, it was not considered a record by the World Athletics, due to his use of unfair measures. Kipchoge had used a special pacemaker and was frequently provided hydration by his team. Moreover, the event that he ran in Ineos159 Challenge in Vienna, was not even a competitive marathon.

Eliud Kipchoge at 2023 BMW Berlin-Marathon

Following this, he set a world record at the 2022 Berlin Marathon by clocking 2:01:09s. Young marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum surpassed Kipchoge's timing by recording 2:00:35s at the Chicago Marathon 2023.

After Kiptum made history by surpassing Kipchoge, changes in the legend’s Instagram bio were noticed. His previous bio read '1:59:40 | 2:01:09 WR| 2x Olympic Champion...'. It has since been changed to read '1:59:40 | 2x Olympic Champion.'

Similarly, Kipchoge also made changes in his X (formerly known as Twitter) bio. Although he has the 2:01:09 timing mentioned in his bio, he has removed the WR initials.

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Kelvin Kiptum on facing Eliud Kipchoge and competing in the Paris Olympics 2024

Kelvin Kiptum at 2023 Chicago Marathon

After returning to Kenya, Kelvin Kiptum shared his experience of running in Chicago as well as the prospect of facing Eiud Kipchoge in the upcoming Olympics. He told Nation Africa:

“It will be exciting to meet Kipchoge, who has inspired many… I am ready to race against him,” he said.

Speaking about his Olympic dream, Kiptum added:

“It was always my dream to compete for Kenya and I will be ready to do that at the Paris Olympics,” said Kiptum.

Kiptum shared that he had a target of breaking the world record sometime by 2025. However, he did not know that he would get to live the moment so soon in his career.

The 23-year-old also revealed that although he has managed to run a marathon within two hours, it is not going to be his focus for his upcoming championships.

Kiptum said he is looking forward to improving his personal best timing with the help of good training.

When asked whether Eliud Kipchoge congratulated him after the 2023 Chicago Marathon, he said:

“I have not spoken to him and I am not aware if he has talked about Chicago Marathon.”