Eliud Kipchoge opens up on reason for special bond with the mum

It is often said that boys form an inseparable bond with their mothers and it is no different from world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge who shares a special relationship with his mother, Janet Rotich.

Kipchoge is the last born in a family of four and he revealed that he was very close to his mother growing up after he lost his father at a tender age.

The four-time London Marathon champion noted that his mother is the reason why he is where he has reached the moment.

“I was taken care of by a single mother…I think she is a strong woman who took care of us. I’m the last born and I’m really close to my mother…I trust that she injected me with the knowledge on how to grow and do good things,” Kipchoge said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

The four-time Berlin Marathon champion revealed that his upbringing was not a walk in the park because going to school, he could hear people talk about their fathers and some even insinuated that children raised by single mothers would never be successful.

Kipchoge, however, defied all odds to make history in the marathon. In 2019, he became the first human to break the two-hour barrier over the marathon in the INEOS 1:59 Challenge.

He is also a two-time Olympic Marathon champion, a feat that has not been achieved by many. He is however not resting on his laurels as he seeks to win all the World Marathon Majors before he calls time on his career.

At the moment, he has already cleared the London, Berlin, Tokyo, and Chicago Marathons and he is yet to conquer the Boston and New York City Marathons.

“My life growing up was not that easy…I would go to school and hear people talking about their fathers. At the time, society would always believe that people who were raised by single mothers should not get power.

"But I broke the two-hour barrier without a father…so those who have fathers should beat my time then,” he said.