Olympic marathon: Heat and hills in way of Eliud Kipchoge and history

When Kipchoge crossed the finish line in Sapporo, Japan, three years ago he matched the achievements of successive Olympic marathon champions Abebe Bikila (1960 and 1964) and Waldemar Cierpinski (1976 and 1980).

The Kenyan no longer holds the world record over 26.2 miles (42.195km), with his mark bettered by the late Kelvin Kiptum last October, but is “fighting for history” as he looks to surpass the men from Ethiopia and East Germany.

“I want to go into history books, to be the first human being to win back-to-back-to-back,” he said.

Back in April, Kipchoge said his “huge expectation” was to win in Paris despite finishing 10th at March’s Tokyo Marathon – his lowest ever competitive placing.

“It will put more pressure [on] and a lot of expectations are there,” he said.

“If I lose a marathon then I’ll get disappointed. But then I go back and start the journey again.”

On the rare occasions Kipchoge does not top the podium – which has happened just three times since the start of 2014 – he draws inspiration from challenges which other elite sportsmen have endured.

He cites the examples of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes this season and former UFC title-holder Francis Ngannou being knocked down in a boxing match by Anthony Joshua in March.

“You can be in good shape but that one punch can knock you out and finish you in one second,” Kipchoge added.

“It’s not about losing. It’s about getting up and going straight to your goal again.”