Eliud Kipchoge creates history by running sub two-hour marathon

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge will attempt to run the first ever marathon under two hours in the Austrian capital of Vienna, two years since he fell 25 seconds short.

Eliud Kipchoge became the first athlete to run a sub two-hour marathon.

HE HAS DONE IT!

Eliud Kipchoge becomes the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours. What an incredible feat! Kipchoge runs 26.2 miles in 01:59:40!

And the countdown begins... 5 KM to go. Kipchoge on course for a 1:59:50 marathon, with a three kilometres to go.

 

UPDATE: JUST 7 KM TO GO!  He has passed 35km at 01:39:23

Kipchoge's breakdown so far:

5km – 14:14 10km – 28:28 15km – 42:34 20km – 56:59 25km –  01:11:03 30km – 01:25:30

UPDATE: Kipchoge passes 30 km at 01:25:11.

Kipchoge reaches 25km at 01:10:59.

Kipchoge's marathon breakdown so far:

5km – 14:14 10km – 28:28 (+14:14) 15km – 42:34 (+14:14) 20km – 56:47 (+14:13)

UPDATE: Kipchoge is approaching the halfway mark (20km) at an average speed of 21 km/h. The estimated time to finish the marathon currently is 01:59:51.

In the meantime, here's the lowdown what it looks like in Vienna at the moment. Remember, Kipchoge first attempted the feat in May 2017 on the Monza National Autodrome racing circuit in Italy, finishing in a time of 2 hours and 25 seconds.

 

Former Olympic and World Champion in athletics, Haile Gebrselassie wishes Kipchoge luck.

 

UPDATE: Kipchoge passes the 15 km mark in 42:34.

Kipchoge ran the first 10km in 28:20. That’s one second quicker than his 2017 sub two-hour marathon attempt in Monza.

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge in action.

5km - 14:10

10km - 28:20 

UPDATE: Kipchoge is nine seconds under the target time - he would get past the finish line in 1:59:50 if he keeps up the pace. The first five kilometres are out of the way.

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UPDATE: There are 41 runners setting the pace for Kipchoge in Vienna today. The first change in the pacesetter team has taken place

DID YOU KNOW: There will be a fluorescent green laser beam fired onto the road to mark where Kipchoge needs to be if he is to break two hours. The laser will be set at a time 10 or 20 seconds below the two-hour mark.

 

“Before Roger Bannister ran a sub-four-minute mile many humans believed it was not possible,” Kipchoge was quoted as saying by the ineos159challenge website.

“Last year I ran 2:01:39 (in Berlin) no human being at that time thought it was possible. When Kenenisa Bekele ran 2:01:41 (at the Berlin Marathon last month) that is a perfect illustration that no human is limited. 

Kipchoge had compared the Vienna attempt to a historic landmark in annals of human history:

“Berlin was about running a world record, Vienna is about running and breaking history, like the first man on the moon.”

Meanwhile... in Vienna, Kipchoge and his pacesetters are off the blocks!

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, the marathon world record holder, warms up before the start of his attempt to run a marathon in under two hours in Vienna.

 

NOTE: This will not be recognised as a world-record attempt. The sport's governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), will not ratify the run as an official record because it is not in open competition and it uses pace-setters .

WEATHER WATCH: The weather in Vienna on Saturday is expected to be dry and sunny with a forecast temperature of 9 Celsius at the start, rising to 12 Celsius at the finish.

 

DID YOU KNOW: It wasn’t until 1960, at the Rome Olympics, that an African runner first set a world record. Running barefoot, 28-year-old Ethiopian Abebe Bikila created history by winning the gold in a time of 2:15:16. And four years later in Tokyo, Bikila not only defended his Olympic title successfully but again set a new WR time of 2:12:11. And since Paul Tergat’s run at Berlin in 2003 that the WR has remained firmly in the grip of either a Kenyan or an Ethiopian.

 

Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge’s attempt to run a marathon in under two hours will take place in Vienna on Saturday.

The attempt will be on a multi-lap course in The Prater, a park in Vienna. If the weather is poor, organisers have reserved eight more days.

Kipchoge says Vienna offers “a fast and flat course, nicely protected by trees.”

Kipchoge lowered the marathon world record to 2 hours, 1 minute, 39 seconds last year in Berlin. He has tried to break the 2-hour barrier before, running 2:00:25 at the Monza auto racing track in 2017. That wasn’t considered a world record because pacers entered mid-race and drinks were given to runners via mopeds.

The attempt had originally been planned for London, though no date and no course had been chosen.