Mo Farah can beat me at the 2019 London Marathon, says Eliud Kipchoge

In 11 marathons, Eliud Kipchoge has tasted just one defeat and, on that day in Berlin five years ago, it took a world record to deny him over the distance.

The world record holder and Olympic champion is the greatest runner over the distance in history and yesterday announced he will return to London in April seeking a fourth win on the capital’s streets.

But the 34-year-old believes that Mo Farah, despite just three marathons under his belt, is the man most likely to stop his dominance.

“Mo can beat me,” said Kipchoge despite boasting a two-minute advantage over Farah in last year’s race. “Personally, I don’t compete with anybody. I compete with distance and time, but I keep total respect for Mo.

“I’ve been so impressed with his development in the marathon from his career on the track. Last year, he surprised people in London and had a very good run in Chicago. I was really impressed.

“He’s my No1 rival in London. He will enjoy the race more because it is his home, his crowd, there are a million people cheering his name.”

But Kipchoge also has a following, the London crowd increasingly aware of his greatness. It is, he says, like a home from home, much like Berlin, where he broke the world record last year in breathtaking fashion.

“In Kenya, I run in the morning with the children going to school and they shout and run with you,” he said. “In London, no one knows me in the supermarket. That’s very different for Mo Farah! But I’m happy in London. I’ve had success there, I feel good there.”

He knows every time he races people expect the world record to be under threat. In London, he concedes, that is possible. “I came close here before,” he said. “London is quick. First, I have to make sure I win, but I always want to do more than that, to make my mark.”

Does he feel unbeatable in London? “That’s a hard question,” he said. “I feel very comfortable, but there are people that can beat me. I run to win, but you never know.”

Kipchoge believes he still has years of top-level running in his legs, that he could eclipse the marathon record by following his mantra of “going to the limits”. The question remains whether he can lower that record below the two-hour mark, as he tried at Monza previously.

“I still want to try to do it but, if I don’t, it’s okay,” he said. “What I’ve shown to others is that it’s possible. The next generation can now have the belief to go for it.”

At his top speed, Farah (left), on paper at least, cannot go with Kipchoge, but the prospect of the two great distance runners going head to head in a championship race — when times are generally slower — is mouth-watering.

As for that possibility — potentially at this autumn’s World Championships in Doha — Kipchoge said of his rival: “What makes him so special there is his mentality. It is always to win and nothing else. I like that.”