Eliud Kipchoge did not finish the Olympic marathon at Paris 2024 due to a back injury.

What happened?

The Kenyan athlete dropped out at the 31km mark, citing physical pain in his waist.

Eliud Kipchoge was the two-time defending Olympic champion, participating in his fifth Olympics at 39 years of age.

Why it matters for Eliud Kipchoge

This DNF follows a 10th place finish in Tokyo, leaving an uncertain future in the sport for Eliud Kipchoge.

Eliud Kipchoge explained that the pain made him stop, and he decided not to finish the race.

What comes next?

Eliud Kipchoge has not rushed to make any decision about his future, and will think about it over the next three months.

He still wants to try to run some marathons, but will take a rest first to decide what he will do 11 years after switching to the 26.2-mile distance.

Eliud Kipchoge could be seen gifting fans his shoes and vest after stepping off the course, and also attended to his media duties.

Tamirat Tola won gold in the Olympic marathon, setting a new Olympic record on the challenging Paris course in a time of 2:06:26.

Great Britain's Emile Cairess impressed but narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing just over a minute behind the champion in fourth.

Eliud Kipchoge accepted his DNF, comparing it to boxing, where one can train for a long time but still get knocked out in a short time.

He said, 'Today was a tough day at the office. You can train for a very long time but one day, it can happen.'

Eliud Kipchoge has been knocked down, but he has also won, come second, eighth, 10th, and fifth in his career, and now he did not finish.

The other runners were telling him to push on, but Eliud Kipchoge was telling them, 'No, I have pain, I can't.'

He could feel the love and respect from them, and was seen at the finish line, following a lift from officials, with fans flocking to greet the legendary Kenyan.

Eliud Kipchoge then gifted his vest to a young supporter before attending to his media duties.

On the Paris 2024 Olympic marathon course, Eliud Kipchoge walked for 2km and had more than 300 people on either side of him walking with him.

That's why he didn't have his shirt, socks, shoes, or race number, as he had given them away to fans.

Eliud Kipchoge will take his time to decide what's next, and for now, he just wants to try to evolve and see what the future holds.

And for Eliud Kipchoge, the future is uncertain, but one thing is clear - he will always be a legendary athlete in the world of marathon running.