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The marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge became the first man to pass under the mythical two-hour mark at the marathon, this Saturday, October 12, during an unofficial race in Vienna, Austria, tailor-made for the feat.
The Kenyan Olympic champion, in black shorts and white jersey, completed his run in 1 h 59 min 40 s, almost two minutes less than his world record of 2 h 1 min 39 s established under conditions approved in Berlin, last year.
In the Austrian capital, the 34-year-old rider started at 8:15 am, with a cool temperature, on a flat circuit of 9.9 km, to go a little more than four times, with, at the end of 42 195 km, the mad hope of writing the history of athletics.
" No human limits "
" Marking the story was my goal. I am a happy man. There are no human limits , "the organizer's microphone told the marathon recorder after his feat, which he compared to" walking on the moon "for the first time.
It was in the former Prater Hunting Ground in the center of Vienna that this experiment took place, which was sure to elicit some criticism, some of whom felt it was more of a media event. commercial than a sporting feat.
►Also read: Eliud Kipchoge, the extra-terrestrial runner
The sponsor of the event is the British petrochemical giant Ineos, whose billionaire boss, Jim Ratcliffe, has made sport his new investment field.
Only the cameras of the organizer were allowed to film the race, which took place under the eyes of many spectators including Chris Froome , the four-time winner of the Tour de France and leader of the Ineos cycling team.
🇬🇧 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
To put his champion in the best conditions, the sponsor left nothing to chance: three and a half months of preparation of the route, an asphalt course to present no imperfection, a track repeatedly tested thanks to simulation software .
Even the day and the schedule were chosen according to favorable weather conditions (temperature, humidity, air quality). The autumnal fall of the leaves of the trees was closely monitored!
The record not approved by the International Federation
Due to these special conditions, the performance will not be homologated by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF). To climb his Everest, Kipchoge benefited from the help of 41 "Sherpas" of a very high standard, like the former legend of the bottom Bernard Lagat , two brothers Ingebrigtsen who reign over the middle distance and the European background, or 1500m Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz.
As a president running his jog surrounded by bodyguards, the Kenyan lanky (1.67 m, 52 kg) has benefited from a steady tempo around 2 min 50 s per km provided by these hares who took turns in groups of seven around him, every 5 km. And a leading car gave the tempo in front of them. It was the second time that Kipchoge had attacked the bar of two hours in conditions of this type.
On the Italian car circuit of Monza, in May 2017, the Kenyan had missed for 25 seconds to pass under two hours, during a similar event organized by sponsors. " I followed the same training, my team is the same, but I improved my mind again, " he explained before his attempt. " I feel better prepared and confident ."
►To read too: A weakened Kenya before the World Championships?
Kenyan is one of the greatest runners of all time, revealed to the public during his 5,000m victory at the Paris World Championships in 2003. Winner of the Rio 2016 Olympic marathon, Eliud Kipchoge is almost undefeated on this distance since 2013. This time, he said he wanted to " run for history ". He has definitely entered this Saturday.