Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge has become the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours, beating the mark by 20 seconds.
Kipchoge, 34, covered 42.2km in one hour 59 minutes 40 seconds in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria on Saturday.
It will not be recognised as the official marathon world record because it was not in open competition and he used a team of rotating pacemakers.
The Olympic champion missed out by 25 seconds in a previous attempt in 2017.
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Knowing he was about to make history on the home straight, the pacemakers dropped back to let Kipchoge sprint over the line alone, roared on by a large crowd in the Austrian capital.
The four-time London Marathon winner embraced his wife Grace, grabbed the Kenyan flag and was mobbed by his pacemakers, including many of the world’s best middle and long-distance runners.
“I’m feeling good, after Roger Bannister, it took 63 years, I have tried to inspire many people, you can do it. It’s dedication, it was a hard run,” he said immediately after making history.
“It means a lot to Kenya, running under two hours, together we can make a beautiful world.”
Kipchoge praised all those who supported him through the race, and also his family, who were in the crowd to watch on as Kipchoge broke the two hour mark.
“They (my wife and kids) have given me so much support, I’m happy they came here to witness history,” Kipchoge said at the finish.
“The positivity of sport, I want it to be a clean and interesting sport, wake up early in the morning and run.
“It can be good for all.”
Sports CS Amb Amina Mohammed described Kipchoge’s win as a huge victory for Kenya which he has firmly placed on the global map as the home of unlimited humans.
“On behalf of the government, the Ministry congratulates and highly commends Eliud Kipchoge for this outstanding performance. We assure Kenyans that an appropriate consideration or reward will be extended to Kipchoge for inspiring other athletes to break existing standards” she said from Vienna.
She added “His success is also a victory to those who believe in the unlimited possibilities of the human potential. Through this Challenge, Kipchoge has demonstrated, to use his own words, that “when you work hard and when you believe in yourself, anything is possible”.
Through the @INEOS159 Kipchoge has set the bar very high and athletes the world over now have a new standard that will take marathons to an entirely new level moving into the future. Kenyans will strive to break barriers and open new frontiers in their sporting disciplines.
— AMB.(Dr.) Amina C. Mohamed (@AMB_A_Mohammed) October 12, 2019
