Legendary Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge crossed the finish line of the 2025 New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 2, marking his final appearance on the major marathon circuit.
With this race, he achieved the rare distinction of becoming a seven-star elite marathoner, having competed in all seven Abbott World Marathon Majors.
Speaking in an interview head of the race, Kipchoge reflected on what the New York event meant to him.
“November, and it’s New York. It’s a place that has been on my mind for a long time. It’s time for me to go there and get a Seven Star before embarking on my new journey of running for other things; running for a purpose,” he said.
Kipchoge revealed that his next pursuits will include extreme running challenges, meant to inspire other athletes.
“I will run in Antarctica! I will run even 50 kilometres in Saudi Arabia. I want to do that extreme thing that can make somebody work hard and also get partners to rally for a cause,” he added.
Kipchoge’s senior career began on the track before transitioning to road racing.
His journey to greatness started in 2003 when, at just 18, he won the 5000m world title at the World Athletics Championships in Paris, defeating legends like Kenenisa Bekele and Hicham El Guerrouj.
That same year, he also won the junior race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, setting the stage for an illustrious professional career.
Kipchoge went on to win the bronze medal in the 5000m at the 2004 Athens Olympics and later claimed silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the same event.
He also earned silver at the 2007 World Championships, further solidifying his reputation as a world-class athlete.
Kipchoge’s transition to road racing began around 2012; his half-marathon debut time of 59:25 was one of the fastest in history.
In 2013, he made his marathon debut at the Hamburg Marathon, which he won in a course-record time, and claimed his first major marathon victory at the Chicago Marathon the following year.
Over the next decade, Kipchoge won multiple titles at the London Marathon and the Berlin Marathon, two of the sport’s most prestigious races.
In 2018, he broke the marathon world record at the Berlin Marathon, running 2:01:39, a stunning performance that underscored his superiority.
Four years later, he improved his own record in Berlin, setting a new world best of 2:01:09.
Between those achievements, Kipchoge made history in 2019 by running the marathon distance in under two hours at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, clocking 1:59:40.
In addition to his world records, he won back-to-back gold medals in the marathon at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
