Seven years ago, they were on top of the world in their respective sports. But ahead of Monday's Boston Marathon, Rio Olympic gold medalists Monica Puig and Eliud Kipchoge finally got the chance to meet up.
After injuries brought her tennis career to a halt last year, Puig set a goal for herself to run the six major world marathons: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City.
Last year, she ran her first New York City Marathon, and on Monday, she logged the 26.2 miles in Boston for the first time wearing bib 2016 in commemoration of her historic triumph in Rio. At both events, her husband, Nathan Rakitt, has been her running partner.
In their meeting, Kipchoge gave the former Hologic WTA Tour star advice for her marathon goals -- namely, patience on the hills, he said. The Kenyan not only owns the men's world record for the fastest marathon but also has run four of the six fastest marathons in history.
Puig presented the 38-year-old Kenyan a signed racquet, which the avid tennis fan said he'd practice with, while Kipchoge gave her a signed copy of his book, "2:01:09," which chronicles his world-record setting run at the 2022 Berlin Marathon.
During her injury hiatus, and now since retirement, Puig has also taken up a role as a broadcaster for networks including ESPN Deportes and Tennis Channel.
In 2016, Puig famously became the first Puerto Rican athlete to win a gold medal by storming to victory unseeded in women's singles. She beat four seeds along the way, including No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza and then-reigning Australian Open champion and No. 2 seed Angelique Kerber in the gold-medal match. That same year, Kipchoge, as the pre-race favorite, won the first of his two career Olympic golds in a time of 2:08:44.
