NN Running Team-athlete and back-to-back Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge will return to Japan for the 17th edition of the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday 3rd March 2024, a course where he holds the record from his only previous appearance in 2022.

The only sub-two-hour marathoner in history is excited to return to a country where he became the third man to defend his Olympic marathon title, saying:

“I have good memories in Japan. I won my Olympic gold medal there and ran the course record in the Tokyo marathon. Last time, I was grateful for the organization to organize the event during such a difficult time during the Covid-19 pandemic. My aim was to set the course record and it was great to achieve that. I feel good working towards my next race in Tokyo. For me, it is the perfect preparation towards my aim to win my third consecutive Olympic title next summer in Paris.”

Kipchoge took over a minute off the 2017 course record in his last visit to the race, running 2:02:40 to finish over 30 seconds clear of his nearest competitor and his win in the 2021 Olympic marathon in Sapporo was equally as dominant. No athlete in history has won back-to-back-to-back Olympic marathon titles, with the Paris men’s marathon race taking place on 10 August 2024.

The 2003 World 5000m champion will head to the Japanese capital fresh off a record fifth win at this year’s Berlin Marathon. His time of 2:02:42 there means six of the ten fastest official marathons ever have been run by the Kenyan.

This will be Kipchoge’s 22nd marathon, with 18 wins so far including 11 Major Marathons. He has twice broken the world record, both times at Berlin, and in 2019 became the first runner in history to break the two-hour barrier as part of the INEOS 1:59 project in Vienna, running 1:59:40.