Kenyan marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge is taking on a new global role that will see him use his experience to mentor and inspire the next generation of athletes.
The two-time Olympic marathon champion has been named a Dakar Global Ambassador for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, where he will share lessons from more than two decades at the highest level of international sport.
Kipchoge, 41, said the appointment gives him an opportunity to give back after spending 24 years competing at the highest level.
“I was really happy – it made my day – to become a Global Ambassador for the Games. I’ve been in the sport for 24 years; it’s my time to give back to the next generation.”
He will meet young athletes from different countries, mentor them and discuss their sporting ambitions as they prepare for one of the biggest events in their young careers.
“When I go to Dakar, I’ll make sure I meet young athletes from across the world – meet them, have an honest talk, mentor them, and look at what the future of sport, and the world, looks like,” Kipchoge said.
Kipchoge Takes Mentorship Role
The Kenyan star will also mentor the Refugee Olympic Team, which is set to make its debut at the Youth Olympic Games.
Kipchoge has already worked with the young refugee athletes at a training camp in Kenya, where he spoke to them about discipline, education, values and the meaning of success both in sport and in life.
“Mentoring the Refugee Team means a lot to me. I talked to them about the importance of having the right values in your life, your education and your sport – the real recipe for success, and what success means in sport and in life,” he said.
He believes sport can give young refugees a platform to demonstrate their abilities and build a future.
“The advice I love to give refugees is this: sport is life. For them, sport is a real opportunity – it gives them a platform to showcase themselves and to fight for their space,” Kipchoge said.
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From Olympic Champion to Mentor
Kipchoge has built one of the most decorated careers in distance running.
He won Olympic bronze in the 5,000m at Athens 2004 before taking silver at Beijing 2008.
The legend marathoner later switched his focus to road running and won consecutive Olympic marathon gold medals at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
He has also won five Berlin Marathons and four London Marathons and twice broken the marathon world record.
In 2019, Kipchoge became the first person to run the marathon distance in under two hours, recording 1:59:40 in Vienna during a specially staged event.
Now, he wants to pass some of those lessons to athletes beginning their own journeys.
“My message to these young people is that this chance is the key,” Kipchoge said. “It’s their time to fight for their space – and that space is happening in Dakar. Let’s fight for it, show your ability, in the universal language of sport.”
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A Historic Moment for Africa
The Youth Olympic Games will be staged in Senegal from October 31 to November 13, 2026, bringing together about 2,700 athletes aged up to 17.
The event will be the first Olympic sporting event held on African soil, giving Kipchoge another reason to embrace the new assignment.
“Dakar 2026 is a huge event on our young continent – something we’ve long waited for here,” he said.
“Being the first, it will stay vivid in the minds of young people and the general public for a very long time.”
Kipchoge said the gathering will also allow young athletes to meet people from different cultures and understand the wider world through sport.
“It’s about mixing with the world in order to understand it,” he said. “That will be the best thing for us, to realize the world is all around us.”
For Kipchoge, the new assignment represents a shift from chasing medals to helping young athletes find their own path.
“These Youth Olympics are reason enough for me to be there – to meet people, talk to them, and celebrate with athletes from different countries,” he said.
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