Eliud Kipchoge Breaks the 2-Hour Marathon Barrier in Vienna

The Kenyan prodigy Eliud Kipchoge achieved a feat and became the first person to cross the legendary two-hour barrier in a marathon, this Saturday in Vienna, in an unofficial race designed specifically for this achievement.

Accompanied by a group of 'pacemakers' dressed in black until the last 500 meters, the 34-year-old Olympic champion completed the 42.195 km in 1 hour 59 minutes 40 seconds, almost two minutes less than his world record (2 hours 01 minutes 39 seconds), set in official conditions in Berlin last year.

In the Austrian capital, Kipchoge, wearing a white shirt, started the challenge at 8:15 am, and completed slightly over four laps of a flat 9.9 km circuit.

"I feel good, my goal was to make history. (...) I have tried it and I am the happiest man to run below two hours to inspire many people, to tell people that no human being has limits," said the athlete to the organizers' microphone after his achievement, which he compares to "walking on the Moon" for the first time.

"I was very comfortable from the first kilometers. I trained for this for four and a half months and I internalized in my heart and in my mind that I would run the marathon in under two hours," he added.

"Records are made to be broken, so someone else will try to do it, but history has been made, it's incredible," congratulated his coach, Patrick Sang.

Source: AFP