ROAD RUNNING
Shattering the two-hour barrier in 2019 in Vienna
Q : The founding patron of the Laureus Foundation , Nelson Mandela , said that sport has the power to change the world . What does that mean to you ?
EK : I ’ m happy that you are asking that question , when I am in South Africa now , where Mandela was born and was the president of this country . So , the meaning is that sport can change the lives of everybody , it can change your world . Sport can make us all united , because it talks to every individual in their own language , and it can make those youth who have lost hope to have hope again . And if our goal is that sport actually has its own unique language , it can talk to all people . So , I am doing the Laureus Awards to echo what our first patron said . If I win , then I ’ ll actually inspire more , and I will talk more to the youth , I will talk more to the children , I will talk more to the men and women , I will talk more to the human family . So , sport is important , and is the way to go in this world .
Q : You mentioned children there ... Children around the world look up to you as an idol and an inspiration , so do you have a message for those children ?
EK : My message to children in the whole world is to be positive in life , to make sport their lifestyle and a powerful tool to push their limits . I want to tell all the children in the whole world , you are the future , and this world actually relies on you , because this is the only world we have , and all this world is our only business .
Q : Getting back to your running , what still drives you on ? After all , you ’ ve broken the two-hour marathon , you ’ ve won Olympic gold medals , and most of the marathon majors … so is it trying to win New York or Boston , to complete the set ?
EK : I ’ m still driven by the love of the sport , and the inspiration that I ’ m feeling with the whole world , especially with the youth , that they are the future . So yes , I still want to run all the six World Marathon Majors , and other big city marathons , but also races in places like Indonesia or Thailand , because I want to show people that sport can make you healthy , can make you think positively , and is the only way to make our world a united world . kilometres away in Sapporo . So I was happy to be invited back , and Tokyo actually has the best course to run a World Record .
Q : Looking ahead , is the 2024 Paris Olympics one of your goals , to claim a hattrick of Olympic marathon titles , and on a similar note , would you consider coming to run the Cape Town Marathon ?
EK : Paris 2024 is actually on my bucket list , and you know , Cape Town actually is , too .
Q : Do you think you can break the two-hour mark in an official race ?
EK : I have tried to run under two and I ’ ve shown everyone the way , so I believe that one day in the future , if not soon , somebody will run under two hours in an official marathon race . I think the first thing is the mind , to accept it ... That ’ s how I would be able to run a sub-two in a normal marathon . So , what I need is actually to control my mind , actually to prime my mind , and push my limits . I always push , but I want to do it again , and then encourage others to push their limits , too .
Q : Where are things are at the moment with you and testing the latest technology . Is working with Nike on the shoes a lot more complicated these days ? Do you have to go through a lot more assessments ?
EK : Well , we ’ re on the right track , myself and the Nike innovation team , and the whole team is working together because we trust each other . We are working on the shoes so that the 40 million people who are running marathons , whether it is for three hours or four hours or more , can enjoy their run . So we ’ re concentrating on the lessons learnt and the impact and ‘ friendliness ’ of the shoes , and the recovery . It ’ s not just about running , it ’ s about enjoying it , and thinking in a good way , and getting a good shoe is just one way . With a good shoe , you can enjoy your running .
Q : Do you feel that the rules of the sport are preventing you from using all the new technology fully ?
EK : Not at all . I think we are all people who respect each other , so we work together with the administrators and respect their rules . We respect that there are checks and balances on the shoes , and we say it ’ s OK , this is the world we are living in , this is the running sport , and it ’ s our business to respect that .
Q : A final question is that you follow a simple lifestyle , even though you are famous and considered one of the best athletes of all time . What ’ s the secret to not letting this success get over your head ?
EK : The secret is to live low , a simple life , under the crown . And you know , if you do all those things , then your mind will be relaxed and calm . You will not be distracted by anything that comes across in the celebrity world . So , I put aside the celebrity status and trust that I am a real human being , and I want to play a role of being a human being , not a role of being a celebrity . I will still mix together with all people and spread the word of running , but all in all , when you meet me in private life , I am just a human being trying to make this a more positive world . Because we don ’ t have another world . That is my only business .
The fastest man ever in the marathon – officially and unofficially
Q : Looking back to the recent Tokyo Marathon , do you think that if you ’ d had a rival with you that pushed you to the limit , you could have broken the World Record again ?
EK : I think the Tokyo Marathon has the fastest course ever , but I ’ m happy with the result . My goal was to go back again to run in Tokyo , because in the Olympic Games we were supposed to compete in the streets of Tokyo , but instead we ran a thousand
Thank You to the Laureus Foundation for making this interview opportunity with Eliud possible . The 2022 Laureus World Sports Awards were announced on Sunday 24 April , and we would like to congratulate Eliud on his nomination in the prestigious World Sportsman of the Year category , which was won by Formula 1 Champion Max Verstappen .
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