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Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge makes history, breaks world marathon record

Village Reporter

Eliud Kipchoge Saturday became the first man to run the marathon under two hours after clocking one hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds during the INEOS 1:59 Challenge at Prater Park in Vienna, Austria.

The Kenyan Olympic champion, in black shorts and white jersey, completed its course in 1 h 59 min 40 sec, or almost two minutes less than his world record (2 h 01 min 39 sec) established under conditions approved in Berlin last year.

Kipchoge assisted by 41 pacemakers enters the Guinness Book of World Records for running the first sub two-hour marathon though his feat will not be recognised by the world athletics governing body, IAAF, as the new world marathon record.

Marking history was my goal, I’m a happy man, there are no human limits.

“Marking history was my goal, I’m a happy man, there are no human limits,” the organizer’s microphone told the marathon recorder after his feat, which he compared to “walking on the Moon “for the first time.

“I followed the same training, my team is the same, but I still improved my mind,” he explained before his attempt. “I feel better prepared and confident.”

The Kenyan is one of the greatest athletes of all time, revealed to the public during his victory over 5,000 m of the Paris World Championships in 2003. Winner of the marathon of the Rio Olympics (2016), Eliud Kipchoge is almost undefeated on this distance since 2013. This time, he said he wanted to “run for history”. He has definitely entered the books of history this Saturday.

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