38-year-old long-distance runner, Eliud Kipchoge is currently the star of the moment. On Thursday, the Kenyan runner made headlines for surpassing notable athletes Roger Federer and Simone Biles to win the prestigious 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports. In his long, 20 years and counting career, the athlete has aced the toughest marathons on the planet to emerge as the ultimate athletic legend in long-distance races.

Eliud Kipchoge’s prestigious honor was announced on May 18th. It also revealed certain mind-boggling facts about the runner that made him a legendary athlete.

Eliud Kipchoge is the only athlete to run a marathon in two-hours

Athlete Eliud Kipchoge, famous for his unparalleled running strategies, amazed the world with his running prowess since 2002. ‘The Philosopher’ is highly renowned for running a 42.195 kilometers marathon in Venice (2019) in just 1.59.40. But sadly, Kipchoge’s performance was not recognized, yet.

However, Kipchoge proved his mettle by again creating a two-hour record last year at Berlin. He ran the same distance within 2.01.09. It officially made him the only athlete in history to have run a marathon in two hours.

Kipchoge’s exceptional running feat led him to achieve the prestigious Spanish award surpassing tennis player Roger Federer and gymnast Simone Biles. Moreover, he left behind a series of other notable players in attaining the honor, outshining athletes like sprinter Allyson Felix, the karateka Sandra Sánchez, badminton player Carolina Marín and motorcyclist Marc Márquez.

Read More: “Terrible News”: Sydney McLaughlin Leaves Track World Disappointed With Her Update

As per a report by as.com, the jury that collectively decided on awarding Kipchoge stated about him, “Kipchoge has become a media star, who with his charisma and performance has elevated the queen event of long-distance athletics to much higher public attention than before it appeared (as translated by Google Translate)”. The honorable jury consisted of Spanish swimmer, Teresa Perales, Vicente Jiménez, director of Diario AS, and many other sports journalists and notable personalities.

Besides Kipchoge’s two-hour record, he has amazed the world with other brilliant performances.

How did Eliud Kipchoge surpass Roger Federer and Simone Biles?

‘The Philosopher’ has gained a couple of accolades to his cap in his long career. In 2003, he shocked the world by winning a 5000-meter marathon at the Bislett Games with a running time of 12:52.61 minutes.

Moreover, Kipchoge made headlines for winning 15 marathons out of the 18 events he participated in, in the recent years. The Kenyan athlete also won the prestigious World Marathon Majors in countries, Chicago, Berlin, London, and Tokyo between 2014 to 2022. In fact, he won four times, respectively in London and Berlin.

Besides his running prowess, Kipchoge is the ambassador of the Laureus World Sports Foundation. He also has his own foundation named, Eliud Kipchoge Foundation which religiously works to facilitate early childhood education and environmental protection. Lastly, besides his upcoming Spanish award, he also received the Athlete of the Year by World Athletics honor in 2018 and 2019.

Nevertheless, the well-deserved athlete will receive his Spanish award in October at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo.

Watch This Story: Christian Coleman Stunned by Marcel Jacob’s in Extremely Close Call at 60m World Championship Race