By Omulo Isaack
ELDORET, KENYA (Reuters) - Kenya's Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge says his ambition to break the two-hour marathon barrier will override all other considerations this year.
Kipchoge is so focused on the audacious goal that he would not be defending his London marathon title in April and would not even focus on the World Championships in August, the 32-year-old told Reuters.
"My mind is on breaking the two-hour world record. It will be in May, but the venue still remains a secret," Kipchoge said on the sidelines of an anti-doping seminar in Eldoret, about 350km northwest of Nairobi.
Kenya's Dennis Kimetto is currently the world marathon record holder, having clocked 2:02:57 in Berlin in 2014.
The audacious 'Breaking2 Project' is backed by American sports apparel manufacturer Nike (NYSE:NKE) and also involves Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa and Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese.
Their goal is to run 1:59:59 or faster, a pace of 4:34 per mile for 26.2 miles, Nike said in a statement last month.
"There are two other top guys in the field whom I cannot take for granted. I will fully focus there. Anything else can wait. I am not even keen on World Championships," Kipchoge said.