World record-holder shows he is back in form as he clocks 2:04:30 while Katharina Steinruck follows in footsteps of her famous mother with women’s victory

When Eliud Kipchoge finished eighth in the London Marathon last October, we wondered if the great Kenyan was on the decline. He blamed an ear blockage and assured us it was a blip. Then he went away to plot his comeback.

On Sunday (April 18) he showed he was pretty much back to his best as he cruised to victory in the NN Mission Marathon in a world leading time of 2:04:30.

After the race was moved from Hamburg in Germany to Twente Airport near Enschede in the Netherlands, the 36-year-old took to the runway and, after passing halfway in 61:43, he put in a smooth and seemingly effortless performance as he pulled away from fellow Kenyan and training partner Jonathan Korir with 9km to go.

There have been 196 days since that defeat in London and Kipchoge has clearly licked his wounds, regrouped and regained his formidable fitness and confidence.

He promised that Sunday’s event would be a “beautiful” marathon and it certainly was from his point of view. On August 8 he will defend his Olympic title in Sapporo and will surely now go into the race as strong favourite.

In a race that was specially organised to help athletes qualify for the Games, there were a flurry of fast times. The top eight men ran sub-2:10 and 15 broke the Olympic qualifying mark of 2:11:30.

Conditions were chilly with Kipchoge and others starting the race wearing gloves, but fortunately the wind was not strong on what was a potentially exposed course.

Runner-up Korir of Kenya clocked 2:06:40 followed by Goitom Kifle of Eritrea with 2:08:07 in third, Philemon Kacheran of Kenya ran 2:08:47 in fourth despite also being one of the pacemakers, while the 2012 Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda was fifth with 2:09:04 and local Dutch runner Michel Butter also ran a Tokyo qualifier with 2:10:30.

“It is mission accomplished,” said Kipchoge. “The conditions were really good. It was a bit windy but I have no complaint, we were running as one.

“The race was really perfect. The NN Mission Marathon was a real test before Tokyo. It was so good a marathon happened a few months before Tokyo to test our fitness.

“To organise this in the middle of a pandemic and show that people can still run and deliver their best race before the Olympics is very important.”

Steinruck makes a name for herself

Katharina Steinruck of Germany – the daughter of three-time London Marathon winner Katrin Dörre-Heinig – won the women’s race with 2:25:59 as the top 10 finishers beat the Olympic standard of 2:29:30.

Unusually, she raced the distance wearing running tights and long-sleeved top but after passing halfway in 72:58 she drew clear of her rivals and took almost a minute and a half off her PB.

After her mother won Olympic bronze in Seoul in 1988 (not to mention finishing fifth in Barcelona 1992 and fourth in Atlanta 1996), Steinruck will now go to the Tokyo Olympics hoping to make an impact.

Runner-up Sara Moreira of Portugal clocked 2:26:42 with Rabea Schoneborn of Germany running a PB of 2:27:03 in third and Laura Hottenrott, also of Germany, running a five-minute PB of 2:28:02.

One of the most remarkable stories of the day, though, was Mieke Gorissen’s performance in seventh place in 2:28:31. The Belgian only took up running seriously in 2018 but now, aged 38, has smashed the 2:30 barrier and achieved an Olympic qualifying time in her debut at 26.2 miles.