Marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge has revealed his best choice of music, which he says keeps him motivated and makes him run better and faster.
Kelly Clarkson and Kenny Rogers are among the two-time Olympic champion best artistes. Clarkson’s hit Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) and Rogers’ Coward of the County top Kipchoge’s playlist.
“I am a big, big fan of Kelly Clarkson. I listen to all the music of Kelly Clarkson. The first song goes, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. That’s what gets me running. I still push on and push on because I have discovered that running cannot kill me – it makes me stronger.
‘I’ve been motivated more because I can listen to the music that motivates me. That’s the only way in which I can run fast. I can finish the run in a happy way, you know – and at the end of the day, you really feel that you are energetic,” the record Berlin Marathon winner said.
Paris setback
Kipchoge also reflected on his performance at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where he, despite much expectations from him, did not finish the race.
“I have accepted it. I’ve accepted the results. You know, running has a lot of challenges, and the moment you encounter any challenge, you need to accept it and move on,” he continued.
The former world record holder in marathon also explained the significance of the Paris Olympics.
“The [Paris] Olympics actually advocated for peace in this world,’ he continues, looking beyond his one event. ‘But above all, I got a chance. No Olympic flag is white; it has five rings, and every ring represents a continent.
“And I got a chance to represent a black ring that’s the continent of Africa – and that’s still on my mind. I represented Africa as a continent, and we came together as continents to tell the whole world that the Olympic Games are the case whereby we are rooting for peace and rooting for education without any bias at all,” he concluded.
Kipchoge remains optimistic despite recent poor outcomes; at the start of March, he finished tenth at the Tokyo Marathon, following a sixth-place finish at the Boston Marathon in April 2023.
