NAIROBI, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Can Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge be beaten? It has been the question in the past six years as the Kenyan has obliterated his rivals in 11 races.
On Sunday, along the streets of London, marathon fans will keenly watch as the mighty Kenyan goes to the start line for his first competitive outing since shattering the marathon world record seven months ago.
The answer, on paper at least, is a resounding 'no'. Kipchoge's winning time of 2:01:39 in Berlin in September 2018 carved 78 seconds out of the previous world mark, removing any doubt that he is the greatest marathon runner of all time.
Add to Kipchoge's intimidating 11 wins out of 12, which includes the 2016 Olympic title and three victories in London, Sunday's race begins to sound like a foregone conclusion.
Not even the presence of a fast-improving Mo Farah of Britain, who is now world No. 7 and fresh from his maiden marathon victory in Chicago, world No. 4 and last year's London runner-up Shura Kitata of Ethiopia, or the only man to beat Kipchoge in marathon Wilson Kipsang of Kenya, seem to suggest any realistic scenario other than a Kipchoge triumph in The Mall.
But Kipchoge, the World Athlete of the Year and world number one in the marathon, is not buying it.
Although he is more than happy with his pre-race preparations at home in Kenya, he is far too humble to believe in his own invincibility, insisting his philosophy in life is not to dwell on past achievements but focus on the future.
"Sport is about competition and anybody can be beaten," he said. "Mo Farah can beat me and the others can beat me. The best thing is if you just accept this. That is the only way to enjoy the sport."
"It's good to forget what you have achieved and concentrate on what you want. So, what I have achieved in the past is different with what I want on Sunday. I want to make sure that I win, to show that all that I have been doing in the previous years comes out of the humbleness and the hard work in training," he added.
Despite the other candidates, it is Kipchoge's quest to become the first man to win four London titles that has set pulses racing ahead of this year's event, not least because of the potential of a mouth-watering head-to-head with London-raised Farah.
His breakthrough Chicago Marathon win six months ago in a European record time of 2:05:11 places him on an upward trajectory as he approaches only his fourth race over 42km. He pitched his camp in Ethiopia to prepare for London.
"Marathon is completely different with the track and since racing against Eliud in London last year, having learned the hard way, I believe that I've learned a lot," Farah said. "With each race you do get better. You get a bit more experience. After winning in Chicago, training has gone well and I'm just enjoying it."
Kipchoge's three previous London wins have come in 2:04:42 in 2015, a course record of 2:03:05 in 2016 and 2:04:17 in 2018.
In fact, no fewer than seven athletes in Sunday's field have a superior personal best to Farah, including Kenya's former world record holder Wilson Kipsang and five Ethiopian athletes.
Among the Ethiopian contingent, Kitata finished 92 seconds ahead of Farah to take second place in last year's London race by sticking to Kipchoge's coat tails until three miles to go. He is far from fazed by Sunday's rematch.
"I will try to beat Eliud this year," said 22-year-old Kitata, who is 12 years younger than Kipchoge.
"Last year I ran side-by-side with him, but this time I won't just follow him. This year, God help me, I will beat him," he added.
