UP Trending: Just DON’T do it. Shoe Malfunction Causes Eliud Kipchoge marathon world record in Berlin
Landing a high end sports endorsement - think Nike, Adidas, Under Armour - is seen by many athletes as a sign of breakthrough. An acknowledgement from the industry of your prowess as a sportsperson. It also can afford the athelete the opportunity to compete in the latest innovative gear, donated by said sponsor. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for one of Kenya’s leading marathon runners.
Kenya’s Kipchoge was eagerly eyeing compatriot Dennis Kimetto’s world record of 2:02:57 set in Germany’s capital last year, which in turn had bettered Wilson Kipsang’s previous record of 2:03:23 from 2013. Kipchoge had put in his training and was poised to take the crown as the new world record holder, a feat synonymous with a crop of successful Kenyan runners.
However, It was not to be for the Kenyan, who definitely has a reason to feel his association with sportswear giant Nike could have cost him one of athletics’ most prestigious world records.
Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon in two hours and four minutes, just a minute under countryman Dennis Kimetto’s fastest ever time at the Berlin race last year.
“At some point, the insole came out of my shoe, but I had no time to sort it out and it made things hard as it gave me some pain,” explained Kipchoge to AFP. “It wasn’t pleasant on impact with the ground during the race. I am happy to have run my personal best, but I had wanted to run the world record. I will come back to try again next year,” he went on to add.
Talk of a runner’s version of a wardrobe malfunction!
Kipchoge spent much of the second half of the race with both his insoles slipping out of his shoes. The glitch, as unfortunate as it may seem, did not stop him from winning the race.
The 30 year old Kipchoge was talented enough to win world championship 5,000m gold as an 18-year-old and also took Olympic bronze in 2004 and silver in 2008. He has also run a razor-sharp 3min 33sec over 1500m before another surprise prize photo finish in this year’s London Marathon.
