Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan athlete was taking part in a marathon in Vienna on Saturday which he won in under 2 hours at the time mark of 1 hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds. He is unofficially the world’s first marathon runner to have broken the 2-hour mark for a marathon win.
The 34 years old runner was being assisted in this race by the other 41 pacesetters which included runners like former Olympic and the world record holders. These pacesetters all dropped in and out of the marathon to help him be protected from the wind.
Still, this time from Eliud Kipchoge will not be counted as the official world record because this was not recorded in an official race. Still, it will be seen as one of the major historic moments in the sport of distance running.
This is the 2nd time that Eliud Kipchoge, the 4-time winner of the London Marathon has made an attempt to run in the sub-2-hour marathon. The first such try was back in 2017 at Monza where he fished at the mark of 2 hours and 16 minutes.
As or the official world record for marathon finish is 2 hours, 1 minute and 39 seconds for 26.2 miles, which is also a time set by Kipchoge back last year in Berlin.
Eliud Kipchoge, who after comparing this achievement with the one like landing on the moon, said that this is the biggest milestone for athletics achieved since 1954 when Roger Bannister broke the barrier of a 4-minute mile.
He said, “I am feeling really good because, after Roger Bannister, it had nearly taken 65 years to once more make the history. Now I have gone ad broke the 2-hour barrier and inspired to the world to see that nobody has limitations. I can say that I am tired as this was a hard run. Still, you need to remember this that the pacemakers were the ones among the best athletes in the world and I appreciate them for doing their part. It means a lot for Kenya.”
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