Happy Birthday to marathon man Eliud Kipchoge

It’s Eliud Kipchoge’s birthday. He was born in 1984, which makes him 35 years old today. Kipchoge stunned the world with his 1:59:40 performance at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna on October 13.

Wishing Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement recipient @EliudKipchoge a very happy birthday ?

One of the world's most loved athletes and oh yeah, just the first person to ever run a sub-two-hour marathon ??? pic.twitter.com/MLRP89iZdn

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) November 5, 2019

The world record-holder was in New York as a spectator at the TCS NYC Marathon on Sunday, where his teammate on NN Running, Geoffrey Kamworor, scored his second victory and third podium finish in the past three years, finishing in 2:08:13. Kipchoge kept a low profile, not wanting to steal any limelight from the competitors. It must have been a fitting early birthday present to celebrate with Kamworor, who ran to embrace him after crossing the finish line, much as Kipchoge did with his coach, Patrick Sang, after breaking the official world record at last year’s Berlin Marathon.

Some people speculate that Kipchoge is actually several years older than he claims to be, age-fudging being relatively common among Kenyan athletes trying to get into junior meets and attract the attention of sponsors, and that Kipchoge has been under-stating his age for many years.

RELATED: Eliud Kipchoge runs the fastest marathon in history, 1:59:40

Whatever his true age, it’s still his birthday, and runners the world over wish him many happy returns.