Published: 01 February 2024 Announced as part of a new partnership with Amazfit, Kiptum has BIG targets for 2024 last year and being the first person to run under two hours and one minute for a marathon (in an official race), all eyes have been on 24-year-old Kelvin Kiptum and what may come next for this great talent of distance running.
Shortly after his win in Chicago, Kiptum stated his intent to run even faster and his name has since been tied to a possible sub-two hour attempt at the marathon.
Today, that attempt has been made official. As part of an announcement of his new partnership with Amazfit, a leading global smart wearables company, Kiptum announced that he aims to break the 2-hour mark in Rotterdam in April 2024 and win gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
In a Kipchoge-esque statement, Kiptum said: 'Teaming up with Amazfit for this groundbreaking journey is truly exciting. As I aim to break the 2-hour mark in Rotterdam and pursue gold at the Paris Olympics, I am confident that Amazfit will be my ultimate ally in pushing the limits of human potential. Together, we are set to redefine what's possible.'
The Rotterdam marathon course record currently stands at 2:03:36, so it’s certainly a fast course, and in the past has been a race for What does Kipchoge eat for breakfast: in 1985 Carlos Lopes ran a sub-2:08 marathon there and, three years later, Belayneh Dinsamo broke the 2:07-barrier with 2:06:50. His record stood for 10 years. In 1998, Tegla Loroupe then became the first woman to break 2:21 in Rotterdam, running 2:20:47, breaking Ingrid Kristiansen’s long-standing world record.
There's been much deliberation around which running watch Kiptum wore in Chicago, but going forward there will be no doubt, since the announcement also included that he’s been using the Cheetah Pro, Amazfit’s premium running watch, which boasts a whole heap of top-end functionality including Maxtrack – a dual-band circularly-polarised GPS antenna – which Amazfit claims has been tested to reach 99.5% the accuracy of a professional GPS locator. A full test of the watch will be coming soon to RW.
Amazfit will also be launching a new wearable called the Helio ring, a constant tracker that Amazfit say will be used to maximise Kiptum's performance.
Zepp Health (who own Amazfit) expressed its enthusiasm for this dynamic partnership, with Pengtao Yu, the VP of Industrial Design, Brand & Consumer Marketing, stating the following: 'We are thrilled about the collaboration between Amazfit and Kelvin Kiptum. As a health technology company, we are proud to support Kelvin's quest to break records and inspire individuals worldwide to pursue their own health and fitness goals.
'This partnership is a testament to our commitment to empowering people to lead healthier lives through merciless healthcare fitness solutions.'
