Eliud Kipchoge to race 2023 Boston Marathon

The world’s fastest marathoner and two-time Olympic marathon champion, Eliud Kipchoge, confirmed on Twitter today that he will be running the Boston Marathon on April 17, 2023. This will be his first time competing in Boston, as he continues his quest to win all six Abbott World Marathon Majors titles.

My next race? pic.twitter.com/8r6pR0Scji

— Eliud Kipchoge – EGH🇰🇪 (@EliudKipchoge) December 1, 2022

Kipchoge, 38, has held the world record since the 2018 Berlin Marathon, where he became the first runner to dip under the 2:02 mark. This year at the Berlin Marathon, Kipchoge lowered his world record by 30 seconds, running 2:01:09, 32 seconds faster than his Ethiopian rival Kenenisa Bekele. 

The greatest Kenyan marathoner in history has won four of the six marathon majors—Berlin, Tokyo, London and Chicago, and will look to make it five in Boston. Kipchoge has mentioned in multiple interviews that he has goals to win all six majors and become the first athlete to win three straight golds in the Olympic marathon. 

Fans are unlikely to see a world record from Kipchoge in Boston, due to its challenging hills, but Boston is looked at as the world’s most prestigious marathon due to the relatively difficult entry standards. Luckily the 2:01 man had no issue being accepted into the field.

Boston… it’s time.@EliudKipchoge #BostonMarathon #oneBOSTON #Boston127 pic.twitter.com/1QTWuSbiGq

— Boston Marathon (@bostonmarathon) December 1, 2022

Kipchoge’s last race in the U.S. was the 2014 Chicago Marathon, his second of 10 consecutive marathon victories from 2014 through 2019. He will become the first reigning men’s marathon world record holder to race the Boston Marathon in 40 years, according to Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.). Kipchoge’s compatriot, Geoffrey Mutai, is the course record holder, at 2:03:02, from the 2011 Boston Marathon; it was a world’s best at the time, but since the course is point-to-point and a net downhill, it did not count with World Athletics.

Kipchoge is not the only big name in Boston. The race said the historic lineup includes 2022 women’s world marathon champion Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia, and the two previous Boston champions, Evans Chebet (2022) and Benson Kipruto (2021).