Tokyo here I come…

World men marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge yesterday made a rousing comeback by convincingly defending his title ahead of the postponed  2020 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.

Kipchoge cruised to victory  in the NN Mission Marathon in the invitational only  special course at Enschede in Twente, Airport in the Netherlands.

The 36-year-old clocked two hours, four minutes and 30 seconds in his first outing since his shock defeat at last year’s London Marathon.

Compatriot Jonathan Korir was second, two minutes and 10 seconds back, with Eritrea’s Goitom Kifle finishing third.

Philemon Kacheran of Kenya ran 2:08:47 in fourth despite also being one of the pacemakers, while the 2012 Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda was fifth with 2:09:04.

The race  was originally due to take place in Hamburg on 11 April, but local Covid-19 restrictions meant it could not be staged in the German city.

It was  a race that was specially organised to help athletes qualify for the Games, there were a flurry of fast times. The top eight men ran sub-2:10 and 15 broke the Olympic qualifying mark of 2:11:30.

Conditions were chilly with Kipchoge and others starting the race wearing gloves, but fortunately the wind was not strong on what was a potentially exposed course.

 Kipchoge lost a marathon for the first time since 2013 in October 2020 in London, despite being a four-time champion and the favourite to win in St James’s Park.

“It is mission accomplished,” said Kipchoge. “The conditions were really good. It was a bit windy but I have no complaint, we were running as one.

“The race was really perfect. The NN Mission Marathon was a real test before Tokyo. It was so good a marathon happened a few months before Tokyo to test our fitness.

“To organise this in the middle of a pandemic and show that people can still run and deliver their best race before the Olympics is very important.”