Discipline, focus help champion Eliud Kipchoge remain injury-free

Nairobi: Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has remained injury-free for almost a decade, a move his physiotherapist Peter Nduhio puts down to discipline. The 34-year-old, who claimed an Olympic bronze medal in Athens in 2004, silver in Beijing in 2008 and gold in Rio four years ago, says injury played a part in his decision to ditch track competitions for the marathon.

In the build-up to the 2012 London Olympics, Kipchoge was solely focused on winning a place in the national team to compete in the 5,000m event. However, a hamstring problem denied him the chance as he finished seventh in the explosive Kenyan trials.

“I was angry with myself,” Kipchoge said of the trials. “I had done everything right, but in the build-up, I had an injury. I lacked the speed to secure a slot in the team.”

It was then that his coach Patrick Sang advised him to switch to the marathon, and he has had no regrets or major injuries since.

His physiotherapist credits his routine, hard work and discipline for the unprecedented success he has had, which has seen him win 11 of his 12 marathons since he switched to the road in 2013, losing only once to compatriot Wilson Kipsang. “Eliud makes it easy for me to work on him. If he feels an issue, he will come to me straight away after a run before even going back to his room and we can nip it in the bud. This body that we have, if you treat it well it will treat you well. If you mishandle it, then it will misbehave,” said Nduhio. IANS

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