Eliud Kipchoge wins the NN Marathon in Netherlands, ready to conquer the world -again

Olympics champion and World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge has bounced back from the 2020 London Marathon nightmare to win the 2021 NN Mission Marathon in Enschede, Netherlands, Sunday.

Kipchoge clocked 2:04:28 in a race that proved easy for the marathon great as he showed optimism, determination and energy from the onset as Jonatahn Korir rallied behind to finish second within a timeframe of 2:06:40.

The race became an all East African affair on the halfway mark of 61:43 with Kipchoge and Jonathan Korir exchanging leading turns at the front pack. Ugandans Filex Chemonges and Geoffrey Kusuro were closely chasing the Kenyan duo from behind at the 20km split.

Kipchoge Race Grew Tighter

Philemon Kacheran took the lead after the half – way point, making Eliud Kipchoge and Jonathan Korir remain on toes for the top prize as the race got tighter.

However, Kipchoge, 2019 London Marathon champion and Jonathan Korir took the first two positions on the 1:21 mark with pacer Kacheran dropping behind after the leading duo had gone through 25km distance in a remarkable time of 01:13:17.

The world Marathon record holder would then produce another moment of magic as he stretched meters past Korir on the 1:55:48 mark, running a lone race.

Kipchoge, 36, was making his second appearance in Enschede in his career, running   in the one – off race held in a specially designed course at the Twente Airport.

From Hamburg to Netherlands

The particular event was initially scheduled for Hamburg on April 11^th but organizers were forced to seek an alternative venue due to strict coronavirus containment measures imposed on the German city meant to tame the health crisis.

He was making his first appearance in the 42.2Km distance since the 2020 London Marathon shocker where he finished eighth, an event that was won by Ethiopian finest Shura Kitata.

The 2018 IAAF world male athlete of the year was using the race to polish for the upcoming delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July with an aim of defending his 2016 Rio Olympics title in Japan.