Kenya’s long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge raced to history in Vienna by becoming the first man to achieve the barrier-breaking sub-two-hour marathon as part of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge.
The 34 year-old world record holder and Olympic champion achieved a jaw-dropping time of 1:59:40.2 to secure his moon-landing moment.
Everyone knew that Eliud has been a brilliant athlete and best marathoner of all time. But not so many outside athletics circles believed that a human being could accomplish such a fate in our lifetime.
It was an effort supported by the best in the sport, including an electric pace car complete with futuristic lasers and a fabulous team of world-class pacemakers, featuring some of the best athletes in the world.
“This was the best moment of my life,” Eliud explained after the race.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “From the first kilometre today I was really comfortable. In my heart and my mind, I hoped to run under two hours and make history. I hoped to leave a positive message to the whole world that no human is limited.” [/perfectpullquote]
Besides achieving the fate Eliud stated that it was not about breaking the sub-hours’ time but also proving to the world the positivity of sports.
“I want to make athletics a clean sport and I want people to wake up every morning and just run since many of these diseases are kept away through staying fit,” said Eliud.
Eliud took his time too to thank Kenyans led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his fans across the world for their encouraging messages. “It really contributed to my success,” said Eliud.
The Eldoret born athlete had already tried in May 2017 to break the two-hour barrier, running on the Monza National Autodrome racing circuit in Italy, failing narrowly in 2hr 00min 25sec.
