How debutant Vincent Kipkemoi opened Eliud Kipchoge's eyes at the Berlin Marathon

For the first time in his career of running in the streets of Berlin, Eliud Kipchoge made a few turns to ensure nobody was following him during Sunday’s race.

Kipchoge is always known to be the greatest of all time when it comes to the 42km distance but he has admitted that there are many upcoming athletes who have the talent.

In the streets of the German capital, the 38-year-old won the race in a time of 2:02:42 and his closest challenger, Vincent Kipkemoi finished second in a Personal Best time of 2:03:13. Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele sealed the podium in a time of 2:03:24.

“I think the world actually has a lot of talent…that’s what I learnt. Talent is there…it’s only to execute, train well, love the sport, and make sure the world is united so we can have a conducive environment to train,” Kipchoge said during the post-race press conference.

Kipchoge’s compatriot, Kipkemoi, was only debuting and the fact that he could deliver such a world-class run poses a threat to the legends.

Another Ethiopian, 24-year-old Derse Kindie also posed a threat to Kipchoge’s chances of winning. Kindie stuck with Kipchoge, keeping up with his pace until about the 30km mark when he withdrew from the race.

As he gears up for the Olympic Games in 2024 in Paris, France, he will be keen to keep in mind that there are many upcoming long-distance runners who are very talented. The Kenyan will surely have to dig deep in order to get a win.