Nairobi — Two-time world record holder Eliud Kipchoge has thrown his weight behind Cape Town’s bid to be elevated to a World Marathon Majors race.
Kipchoge says Africa stands to gain from the designation of the road race as an elite competition.
“I am really rooting for Cape Town to be among the World Marathon Majors. This is our marathon…I want to urge all the 53 countries to invest in Cape Town because this is our only marathon whereby we need to feel pride because this is where we sell our culture as Africans,” the two-time Olympic champion said.
Kipchoge is currently in Cape Town in readiness for his debut in the marathon on Sunday (May 24).
It is the latest leg of the Eliud Kipchoge World Tour, an initiative in which the marathon great hopes to create awareness on world peace and unite communities through running.
Speaking after competing at last year’s New York Marathon, Kipchoge said he would be competing in a marathon on every continent — not to smash records but to spread the gospel of marathons.
Other than Cape Town, he is also set to compete at the Porto Alegre International Marathon in Brazil on July 12, as well as the Melbourne Marathon on October 12.