Kenenisa Bekele Faces Eliud Kipchoge in New York Marathon

Kenenisa Bekele, 43, will toe the start line of the New York City Marathon alongside Eliud Kipchoge, 41, on Sunday.

This will be their 25th meeting, with Bekele having dominated on the track, winning three Olympic titles and five World Championship golds.

Bekele won the 5,000m at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway in 2003, just seven hundredths of a second ahead of Sammy Kipketer.

Kipchoge earned bronze and silver Olympic medals in the 5,000m, and was crowned world champion over that distance in 2003, running a championships-record time to beat Bekele.

Bekele would twice complete the track distance-running double, at the 2008 Olympics and the following year's World Championships.

Kipchoge started racing half-marathons in 2012, with a 59:25 finish in Lille, France, the second-fastest debut half-marathon ever at the time.

Kipchoge will make his debut in the event, while Bekele finished sixth in 2021 with a time of 2:12:52.

Bekele has also moved to the roads, winning the Great North Run in 2013, and finishing fourth in the Chicago Marathon in 2014 with a time of 2:05:51.

And Kipchoge led a Kenyan podium sweep in Chicago, running 2:04:11.

Bekele's experience and Kipchoge's speed will make for an exciting competition.

The two athletes have been rivals for over two decades, with their meetings being some of the most highly anticipated in distance running.

So the New York City Marathon will be a chance for them to showcase their skills one more time.

Kipchoge has said that this will be his final major marathon, and Bekele is also nearing the end of his career.

But they both still have the talent and dedication to compete at the highest level.

As they prepare to face off in New York, fans around the world will be watching to see what these two legends can do.

The stage is set for an epic battle between two of the greatest distance runners of all time.