Eliud Kipchoge is set to secure the prestigious Six Star Medal if he can finish the New York City Marathon 2025 on Sunday.
Widely recognised as the greatest marathon runner of all time, the Kenyan will complete the series of Abbott World Marathon Majors in ‘The Big Apple’, adding to 11 Major wins, two Olympic golds, a sub-two hour marathon and multiple world records.
There are currently seven Abbott World Marathon Majors, after Sydney Marathon joined the original six iconic races: Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City.
The Six Star Medal was introduced in 2016 to honor the runners who complete the journey across all six races and despite Sydney’s elevation, the Six Star medal remains in place for the original six races only.
There will not be a Seven Star Medal, either. Instead, with Abbott World Marathon Majors evaluating two more candidates (Cape Town and Shanghai), there is now the prospect of a Nine Star Medal in the future.
Kipchoge will therefore join just 434 runners to have entered the Six Star Hall of Fame before Sunday. The 40-year-old has stated his intent to shake hands and celebrate with his fellow runners on Sunday.
“Chasing that Six Star will actually cement my legacy,” he told reporters on Friday morning,” Kipchoge said. “It will make me a real marathoner all round. The Six Star has been my goal since I stepped in marathon.
“It takes time to do all the six, it takes patience, but patience pays. My celebration is to see all the Six Star winners. Talk with them, shake hands, tell them to help me make this world a running world.”
“I’ve been looking forward to New York for a very long time,” he added. “The city where everybody is there [to support].”
Kipchoge has teased the prospect of ending his Marathon Major career on Sunday and then opting to pursue other projects — including a challenge in Antarctica.
“November, and it’s New York…It’s a place that has been on my mind for a long time,” Kipchoge told Olympics.com. “It’s time for me to go there and get a Seven Star before embarking on my new journey of running for other things—running for a purpose.
“I will run in Antarctica! I now want to do that extreme thing that can make someone work hard. A lot is in store which I will roll out after New York…it will be an interesting journey…to do other things.”
“I will run even 50 kilometres in Saudi Arabia. I want to do that extreme thing that can make somebody work hard and also get partners to rally for a cause.”
Kipchoge last competed at the Sydney Marathon in August, finishing ninth. He last won at the 2023 Berlin Marathon.