Today - Saturday, October 12, 2019 - a Kenyan athlete by the name of Eliud Kipchoge became the first person ever to run a marathon in under two hours, completing the 26.2 miles (42.2km) distance in just 1 hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds (1:59:40).
The 34-year-old long-distance runner will enter the record books after his groundbreaking performance at the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria.
This is the moment Kipchoge crossed the finish line and made history:In the final moments of the challenge, Kipchoge's pacemakers dropped back on the home straight to allow the record-breaking Kenyan to sprint over the finish line, as the huge crowd roared in celebration.
As reported by the BBC, after crossing the finishing line the four-time London Marathon winner embraced his wife and celebrated with a Kenyan flag, before being swamped by his delighted pacemakers - which included many of the world's top middle and long-distance runners, such as Olympic 1500m champion Matthew Centrowitz and the Ingebrigtsen brothers Jakob, Filip, and Henrik.
To help him set the record, Kipchoge was assisted by 42 pacemakers, had a leading pace car beaming green lasers on to the road to indicate the required pace of 2:50 per kilometer, and his coaches served him water and energy gels by bicycle.
However, despite the incredible accomplishment, Kipchoge's run will not be recognized as the official marathon world record due to the fact the time was not set in open competition and his numerous aids are simply not allowed under the rules of the IAAF, athletics' world governing body.
Nevertheless, Kipchoge does still hold the official marathon world record of 2:01:39, which he achieved in Berlin back in 2018.
In the video below, Eliud Kipchoge speaks out about his remarkable athletic feat:This was not the first time the 34-year-old had attempted the feat, as the Olympic champion narrowly missed out on the accomplishment back in 2017 by just 25 seconds.
Despite not being recognized by the IAAF, the rest of the world will still remember Eliud Kipchoge as the first person ever to run a marathon in under two hours! Well done Eliud!
