The Kenyan marathon star is in Spain to receive the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports. Kipchoge says he is looking forward to facing Kiptum, possibly at Paris 2024, and wants to see more records being broken as he has “shown them the way.”

For the last decade, the marathon world has been abuzz about the incredible achievements of one-man: Eliud Kipchoge.

The double Olympic champion, who is also a two-time world record holder, was the fastest man ever over the 42.2km (26.2 mile) marathon distance.

That was until October 8, 2023, when Kelvin Kiptum stunned the world by smashing Kipchoge’s record. The Kenyan shaved 34 seconds off Kipchoge’s time from Berlin 2022, with a time of 2:00:35, winning the Chicago marathon.

Kipchoge though, says he wasn’t shocked by the times posted by his compatriot.

“I was not surprised about [Kiptum] breaking the world record,” Kipchoge told a press conference on Friday, 20 October, in Oviedo, Asturias.

“I was happy to see the record being broken…I am looking forward to seeing records being broken because I have shown them the way.”

The Kenyan marathon great is in the north of Spain to receive the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports. The award is for his outstanding achievements as a long-distance runner and the work he does through his foundation to promote education and environmental protection.

Kipchoge, who last September became the first man to win the Berlin Marathon for a record fifth time, reiterated his focus for now ahead of the Olympic year in Paris.

“I will be the happiest on earth to win an Olympic medal for the third time, back-to-back-to-back. It’s about making history; it’s about inspiring a generation.”