Kipchoge eyes London Marathon after Monaco miss

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge is shifting focus to this year’s London Marathon after missing out on the prestigious Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award at the gala held last night in Monaco, France.

Kipchoge was among the six nominees for the Sportsman of the Year Award alongside LeBron James of basketball, Lewis Hamilton of motor racing, footballers Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric and the eventual winner Tennis star Novak Djokovic.

The Olympic champion however managed to bag the Exceptional Achievement Award becoming the fourth sportsperson to win the award after American swimmer Michael Phelps (2013), Chinese tennis player Li Na (2015) and Italian footballer Francesco Totti (2018).

“I want to thank all my fans across the social media platforms for their support.  I would only say that a sporting world is a peaceful world. A sporting world is a healthy world. Similarly, a sporting world is a wealth and an enjoyable world,” Kipchoge said.

Kipchoge adds the latest award to the many accolades in his cabinet since running to a world record of 2:01:39 at the Berlin Marathon last year September.

Other accolades that he has won include; the United Nations (UN) Person of the Year, Sports Personality of the Year Award (SOYA), as well as the 2018 IAAF Male Athlete of the Year Award.

The 34-year-old said he is now focused on the upcoming London Marathon where he will be defending his title.

“This year I am purely concentrating on London Marathon,” Kipchoge said shortly after the awards gala in Monaco. In the English capital, Kipchoge will be hunting for a fourth successive title after triumphs in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

Artistic gymnast Simone Biles was named the Sportswoman of the Year while golfer Tiger Woods clinched Comeback of the Year Award.

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger clinched the Lifetime Achievement Award as Henrieta Farkasova went home with the Sportsperson of the Year with Disability gong.