Eliud Kipchoge made a subtle adjustment to his Instagram bio shortly after Kelvin Kiptum achieved a new world record in the men’s marathon.
Kiptum’s remarkable performance took place at the Chicago Marathon on October 8, where he completed the race in an astonishing 2:00:35, setting a new benchmark for men’s marathon running.
This remarkable achievement was only Kiptum’s third senior marathon, and notably, he now holds three of the six fastest marathon times in history.
Previously, Kiptum clinched victory at the Valencia Marathon in December the previous year and came remarkably close to surpassing Kipchoge’s marathon record at the TCS London Marathon in April. His latest achievement was a mere 35 seconds shy of Kipchoge’s record, making him the first athlete to legally complete a marathon in under two hours and just 34 seconds beyond Kipchoge’s time of 2:01:09.
Before the Chicago Marathon, Eliud Kipchoge’s social media profiles indicated his incredible accomplishments, with his Instagram bio reading ‘1:59:40 | 2:01:09 WR | 2x Olympic Champion…’. However, a recent check shows that it has been modified to ‘1:59:40 | 2x Olympic Champion.’
Silence Amid New Marathon Record Triumph
His Twitter bio remains unchanged, with the WR initials omitted in front of 2:01:09. The 1:59:40 reference signifies Kipchoge’s historic achievement when he became the first person to complete a marathon in under two hours, albeit under special conditions, in Vienna, Austria, in 2019.
While there is no obligation for Kipchoge to publicly congratulate Kiptum, some members of the online community have expressed their surprise at his silence regarding the new record, given his reputation for promoting messages about pushing one’s limits. Twitter user @ItsMutai posted the following comment:
“I haven’t seen a tweet from Eliud Kipchoge congratulating Kiptum for smashing the world record set by Kipchoge himself. What could be wrong with Kipchoge, who keeps bombarding us with motivational quotes on how you must stretch the limits? Kiptum did stretch those limits, right?”
