The Olympic dream turned into a nightmare for Kenenisa Bekele and Eliud Kipchoge in Paris. Both say they are not ready to stop yet but, ultimately, the nature of the 26.2-mile challenge will decide their fate

Kenenisa Bekele might have been tired but he was still thinking clearly. He had just finished 39^th in the mens Olympic marathon in Paris, his run of 2:12:24 putting him almost six minutes behind the winner and his fellow Ethiopian, Tamirat Tola.

This had not been the outcome the 42-year-old had been looking for in what was his first Olympic marathon. A top 10 finish and the chance to mix it with the front runners, to have some fun, wreak a little havoc, was what he really desired.

But at 10km, he felt his hamstring stretch and the war of attrition began. There was to be no fairytale, no golden moment in the warm Parisian sun to write another chapter into one of the truly great careers. No chance to light the touch paper again.

We are witnessing, surely, the dying embers of Bekele as force on the world stage. Or perhaps not. As the athletes strode, hobbled or creaked their way through the mixed zone the gauntlet of media questions that awaits them just beyond the finish line in the immediate aftermath of the race he came to a stop to discuss what had just unfolded on the most brutal of courses.

He was happy to have stuck to his task I didnt want to drop out but was not about to hide the fact that this had not been one of his better days at the office. Yet, when faced with the question: Do you want to continue with the marathon?, he looked his inquisitor straight in the eye. Of course, was his immediate reply.

It is not an unreasonable question to ask of a man who has won three Olympic track titles, five world track gold medals, numerous world cross country titles and big city marathons, and has absolutely nothing to prove.

Its not so long ago that former Athletics Weekly statistician and results editor Steve Smythe placed him firmly at the top of the list of the greatest distance runners in history, as part of a feature in the pages of our monthly magazine.

There are still flashes of Bekeles genius, too. Anyone who saw him setting the pace and leading the charge at the tail end of the London Marathon earlier this year, in which he placed second, will have had their heart gladdened.

His run of 2:04.15 was a M40 world record, so perhaps he feels there is more history to be made in the Masters realm. Perhaps he just loves to run. Or perhaps he just cant let go even though he admitted that keeping up with these pesky kids is getting increasingly difficult.

Ahead of this beautifully constructed Paris showpiece that displayed the city in all its glory, the hype or hope, rather had centred on the tantalising thought of one final battle between Bekele and Eliud Kipchoge.

It was in Paris, after all, that the great Kenyan first announced himself to the world by beating Hicham El Guerrouj and Bekele to 5000m gold at the 2003 World Championships. The potential for such a delicious full circle moment the chance for Kipchoge to go for an historic third Olympic title in a row was just too tempting to resist.

The sporting romantics were to be disappointed in the French capital, though. Kipchoges obvious discomfort growing as he slid back down the pack and completely out of contention.

Video footage of him being reduced to a walk soon began to emerge on social media. The subsequent images of him waiting for the last runner to pass him before he officially called it a day and climbed into a bus at the 31km mark, made for the sorriest of sights.

This has been the toughest of years for him. He has been deeply affected by the death of his successor as world record-holder, Kelvin Kiptum, and the related threats and accusations that were made against him and his family. It has been clear that his powers are waning, too, as evidenced by his second-half blow-up at the Tokyo Marathon back in March.

Kipchoge appeared in the Paris 2024 mixed zone wearing only his shorts, having given a number of supporters out on the course some of his kit. Back pain had put a halt to his race and thrown his best laid plans out of the window.

Its like boxing, he said. You can go to a training camp for five months and be knocked out in two seconds, but life will continue.

This is my worst marathon. I have never done a DNF [did not finish]. Like a boxer, I have been knocked down, I have won, I have come second, eighth, 10th, fifth now I did not finish. Thats life.

He, too, was asked about his future. Ever the philosopher, he replied: I dont want to comment on what will happen tomorrow, I want to try to evolve. If I dont evolve, then I will do other things.

I dont know what my future will hold. I will think about it over the next three months. I still want to try to run some marathons.

For someone who has done so much for this classic distance, who used to bend it to his will, who has brought the worlds gaze towards the art of running 26.2 miles searingly quickly this certainly doesnt quite feel like the fitting way to go out.

Yet perhaps it is. Anyone who has run a marathon will tell you the first rule is to respect the distance. It is a fickle beast that can bite you at any time and when you least expect it, especially when your route involves the kind of vertiginous Versailles climbs that were placed in the competitors path on Saturday morning. Thats part of its charm.

Two running gods were brought down to earth in Paris. Their race might not be completely run, and it might not feel like it to them at the moment as they nurse their aching limbs, but maybe its the marathon that deserves to have the final word.