I’m sat on a bench, tall pines providing some welcome respite from the midday sun and the man to my left is extolling the virtues of Northern Ireland. Larne has a fan in the Kenyan rift valley. In 2023, Daniel Mateiko got on three flights and found himself at George…
Category: NN Group
Athlete Interviews
The one-word diary of Eliud Kipchoge
Sponsors may vary. A Coros watch on his wrist, a glucose monitor glued to his arm but for Eliud Kipchoge simple pen and paper will always prevail. On 3 March 2024, the double Olympic champion passed the red bricks of one of the world’s most iconic train stations. Four minutes…
Athlete Interviews
Daniel Mateiko reminds Kenya, Kaptagat is king
For 20 years, the Global Sports Communication Camp in Kaptagat has gripped tightly the mantle of the world’s best distance group. From Eliud Kipchoge since his first world title in 2003, Olympic champion Brimin Kipruto and his assault on the 3000m Steeplechase world record, to Olympic and world champions Stephen…
Athlete Interviews
“Real history” beckons for Tokyo-bound Kipchoge
26.2 miles of answers. A long-awaited showdown between the marathon’s greatest exponent and an athlete already with a vice-like grip on his slipping crown. I spoke to Eliud Kipchoge in January, his modest 3 by 2m Kaptagat room the background, a prison for the ramping tension that followed his Paris…
Athlete Interviews
Jake Smith – “I’m just trying to fight my own back”
There was a time where everything Jake Smith touched turned to gold. 18th in the World Half Marathon Champs in 2020. A 2:11:00 marathon as part of a pacing effort. The 2021 Big Half title. “When I first went to university and followed a really good program, I felt like…
Athlete Interviews
Adjustment over, Marc Scott seeks Olympic marathon spot
At a gym by the M23, world indoor medalist Marc Scott finishes up an elliptical session. He is surrounded by fitness fans who notice nothing but a lean man who enjoys his cardio. A typical day in a 2023 season that stands in stark contrast to the five that came…
Athlete Interviews
From 800m men to marathon stars, Patrick Sang on building a world-class group
The winner of three global medals as a steeplechaser, it is an indication of the success of Patrick Sang as a coach that it is for this that he has gained wider recognition. The 1992 Olympic silver medallist has, for the last 25 years, slowly and incrementally built up a…
