Kipchoge eyes Olympic marathon title defence in Tokyo

London marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge says he intends to defend his Olympic title at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Kipchoge, who has been touted as the greatest ever marathoner with his eighth win in nine attempts in London last Sunday, wants to attain the feat before he retires from the sport, reports Xinhua news agency.

"My aim is to continue through until the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo where I will defend my marathon title. Tokyo 2020 is definitely not in the back of mind. It is in the front of my mind," Kipchoge told reporters here on Tuesday.

Though Athletics Kenya has the right to select who represents the country in the Olympics, Kipchoge believes he will be strong enough to continue the dominance in the 42km race until 2020.

 

For now, Kipchoge, 34, is not revealing what will be his next stop as he takes a deserved rest and recover from that grueling performance in London.

"For now, it will be important for me to recover and then discuss with my management and coaches on the best possible race," he said.

Kipchoge said he still gets nervous before the race and worries if he will be able to weather the storm from all the elite runners and the expectations of his fans.

"I still get nervous when starting a race. The day and morning of the race are as hard as to anyone. I always try to breathe and be normal," he added.

--IANS

pur/vm