FILE PHOTO: Athletics - Berlin Marathon - Berlin, Germany - September 24, 2023 Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge crosses the finish line to win the Berlin Marathon REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
(Reuters) - Twice Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge will run the Sydney Marathon in August, he said on Thursday.
The 40-year-old Kenyan, who won back-to-back Olympic titles in 2016 and 2020, became in 2019 the first man to run a marathon in under two hours with a time of 1:59:40 in Vienna. That did not count as an official record, however, as standard competition rules were not in place.
"I'm so excited," Kipchoge said in a statement. "This is not only my first time running the TCS Sydney Marathon, but also my first time running in Oceania. Running in Australia is a great opportunity for me."
He has a record of 16 wins in 21 officially ratified marathons, including 10 consecutive victories from 2014-19.
Kipchoge, who has run the second fastest official marathon ever with a time of 2:01:09, will take part in next month's London Marathon before heading to Sydney.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, editing by Ed Osmond)
