Before his groundbreaking victory in Boston, John Korir spoke of his ambitions to compete in all seven World Marathon Majors and support children in his homeland.
In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Korir, now ranked as the fifth-fastest marathoner in history after claiming his second consecutive Boston Marathon title and breaking the course record, spoke about his broader goals beyond the race.
"For me, what we are planning with my team -- like my coach, my manager, my brother -- we are planning to run all seven majors. Boston will be my last race in the States. Then I try to go to Europe and see how Europe will take me. The States have been good for me. So now, it's not easy to say, but I stay for a little bit and go to Europe and see where that will take me," he said.
Beyond his individual achievements, John Korir also shares a place in Boston Marathon history with his brother, Wesley Korir, as the first pair of brothers to win the race. John said Wesley has been his most important coach and supporter over the years.
"For me, my brother Wesley has been good for me. He'd tell me, 'this is bad, don't do this, don't do this. Do this, it will take you far.' And he has been good for me, like everything I need, he will be there for me. Like, even if we go together to the races, he's there to cheer me and give me morale and tell me, 'you got this, you have trained for it. Now you just go down, believe in yourself, and you will make it,'" he said.
Having spent years supporting local children in his native Kenya, Korir said he hopes to expand the program, which helps students from poor families continue their education and, in some cases, pursue professional running.
"We usually say, we'll do the trials, we'll see how they perform, and then we go to their home to visit. If we see that they're saying the truth, that they are poor, when we find that they're saying the truth, we take them from Form 1 to Form 4. Sometimes we take them to university. For those who manage to go to university, they go to university. For those who would not manage and they're good at running, now we introduce them to professional running. But for now, we have like 160 students there," he said.
Drawing on his own journey, Korir urged young athletes to be patient, trust the process and avoid shortcuts on the road to success.
"For me, what I'll tell the young, at least: don't rush it. Don't rush into anything. If you rush into anything, you'll end up suffering. If I had rushed and said that I wanted to be like John K., I would find myself using doping. So, if you rush and say, 'hey, I want to be like John Korir,' you don't know what I did to be where I am now. So, you just be patient. Believe in yourself. And one day, one time, when your time comes, it'll come," he said.
Boston Marathon champion John Korir sets sights on all seven marathon majors
