The Albany Gazette - Kenyan athletics icon Kipchoge targets Tokyo marathon

"My focus has been on Tokyo from the beginning of my training cycle, and I can say I am ready to race there," he confirmed.

The post on Twitter was accompanied by a short clip with Kipchoge saying in Japanese: "Let's meet in Tokyo soon".

The 37-year-old world record holder joined a select club of athletes when defending his 2016 Rio marathon title at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics last year in Sapporo.

Besides Kipchoge, only Abebe Bikila (1960, 1964) and Waldemar Cierpinski (1976, 1980) have won consecutive Olympic marathon titles.

In January Kipchoge -- who won his first Olympic medal a bronze in the 5,000m in Athens in 2004 -- said he would be seeking to make it a record-breaking three in a row at the 2024 Games in Paris.

The Kenyan, whose official marathon record stands at 2hr 01min 39sec, makes his debut in the Tokyo marathon which forms part of the six major marathons with New York, Berlin, Chicago, London and Boston.

With wins already in London, Chicago and Berlin it is one of his career objectives to land all six.

He made history in October 2019 when he smashed the two-hour marathon barrier, running 1hr 59min 40.2sec in a Vienna experiment that does not count as an official record.

(B.Hartmann--BBZ)