Olympic marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge has made history yet again, now as the first person to complete a 26.2-mile marathon in under two hours.
During the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna on Saturday, the Olympic marathon champion from Kenya shattered a feat others have attempted for decades, finishing the marathon in one hour, 59 minutes and 40.2 seconds.
“I am the happiest man in the world to be the first human to run under two hours and I can tell people that no human is limited," Kipchoge said after completing his record-breaking run, according to The Associated Press. "I expect more people all over the world to run under two hours after today.”
Eliud Kipchoge has just ran a full marathon (26.2 miles) in under 2 hours… ????????
That's an average of 100m every 17 seconds, 422 times in a row… ???????? pic.twitter.com/fDSSA1t5sb
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) October 12, 2019
The INEOS 1:59 Challenge was inspired, in part, by Nike's Breaking2 project, which also featured Kipchoge. Three years ago, he was among a group of three runners who attempted to break the two-hour limit. However, his time fell short by a total of 26 seconds.
In 2018, the Kenyan champion runner broke world records by coming in at two hours, one minute and 39 seconds in the Berlin Marathon.
"Berlin is running and breaking a world record," Kipchoge said prior to his victorious run. "Vienna is running and making history — like the first man to go to the moon."
Kipchoge confronted critics by expressing the need to change people's perceptions of the world, human body and nature.
"The law of nature cannot allow all human beings to think together," Kipchoge said, according to CNN. "In breaking the two-hour barrier, I want to open minds to think that no human is limited. All our minds, all our thoughts are parallel. But I respect everybody's thoughts."
The runner followed behind the pace car with about 30 other runners in tow. They reportedly ran in a "V" formation to help with aerodynamics and to increase speed, after previously attempting to use a diamond-shaped formation in a past Breaking2 project that proved ineffective.
Just like that, Kipchoge's assertions were vindicated, achieving his goal and forging his in the history books alongside the greats.
???????? 1954 Roger Bannister breaks the 4-minute mile
???????? 1969 Neil Armstrong walks on the moon
???????? 2009 @UsainBolt runs 100m in 09.58
???????? 2019 @EliudKipchoge runs a sub two-hour marathon#INEOS159
#NoHumanIsLimited
pic.twitter.com/HMXnxRohE3— INEOS 1:59 Challenge (@INEOS159) October 12, 2019
