CAPE TOWN - Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, the most decorated marathoner of all-time, told ESPN that he is more than a little concerned about Tottenham Hotspur's potential relegation from the Premier League, having supported the London club for years.
Kipchoge also paid tribute to compatriot and friend Victor Wanyama following the former Tottenham star's retirement from football.
Kipchoge visited Tottenham in 2018 and 2019, when Wanyama was still at the club. However, the former marathon world record holder has remained true to his pledge to continue supporting Spurs after the midfielder's 2020 departure, despite his anxiety over their relegation battle.
"I'm still a Tottenham fan. We're having a rough time. We're ranked in the [Premier League] bottom three and I don't know whether we'll survive relegation or not," Kipchoge told ESPN.
Spurs are currently 18th in the Premier League, two points adrift of safety with six games to play.
Roberto de Zerbi recently became Tottenham's fourth head coach in the space of a year. Ange Postecoglou's shock sacking in June 2025 was followed by unsuccessful spells under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor - leaving the UEFA Europa League holders fighting for survival.
However, Kipchoge is nicknamed 'The Philosopher' and holds a perspective on Spurs' struggles befitting of that moniker.
"All in all, it's football," he said. "We always say football is like life: we don't celebrate for 90 minutes - so, we'll see."
Former Spurs, Southampton, Celtic, Beerschot, CF Montréal and Dunfermline Athletic midfielder Wanyama announced on April 3 that he was hanging up his boots.
Kipchoge - who has won 11 major marathons and two Olympic gold medals - has paid tribute to the 64-cap former Kenya international.
"We are real friends. Victor is a huge footballer in Kenya. I visited him when he was at Tottenham twice. The second time, he was playing against Ajax... I believe that [in his post-playing career], he's going to promote football in Kenya and bring a lot more knowledge on football to the next generation," Kipchoge added.
Concerned as he may be over Spurs' future, Kipchoge has no such worries for Wanyama's. As Wanyama works towards finishing his UEFA A License, Kipchoge believes his friend will continue to impact lives beyond football, just as he himself aims to through the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation.
Now 41 years old, Kipchoge is turning his attention to a two-year tour of the world in which he will run marathons in seven continents. His journey will kick off at the Cape Town Marathon on May 24 before stops in Porto Alegre (July 12) and Melbourne (October 11). He aims to raise awareness and funds for conservation and education initiatives.
None of the three confirmed stops on his tour are Abbott World Marathon Majors, although Kipchoge aims to help the Cape Town Marathon become one. This therefore marks a new chapter for an athlete whose career in recent years has largely centred around established majors.
Kipchoge's marathon world record was broken by the late Kelvin Kiptum in October 2023, when he ran 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon four months before dying in a car crash.
However, Kipchoge remains the most successful marathoner of all-time in terms of titles and the only human being to have ever completed a marathon distance in under two hours (1:59:40 in Vienna, 2019). That run, however, was not recorded for the official marathon record books, as it was a time trial in controlled settings rather than in a formal race.
Kipchoge's beloved Tottenham will continue their fight for Premier League survival at home to ninth-placed Brighton on Saturday in a 5:30 p.m. BST (6:30 p.m. CAT, 4:30 p.m. GMT) kick-off.