This archive report was first published on 12 October 2019.
On a cool, misty, and windless autumnal morning in Vienna's Prater Park, Eliud Kipchoge, the Olympic marathon champion and world record holder, completed a marathon in 1 hour 59:40 minutes, making him the first person to achieve this feat.
Guided by rotating teams of pacesetters, many of whom were renowned athletes, and an electric pacecar that shone green lasers onto the track, Kipchoge averaged around 2.50 minutes per kilometre.
He reached the halfway mark in 59:35 seconds, 11 seconds inside the target, and ran remarkably consistently, with his one-kilometre times fluctuating between 2.48 and 2.52 seconds.
For the last kilometre, the pacemakers and pacecar peeled away, and Kipchoge pointed to the crowd and smiled as he completed the run.
Speaking after the race, Kipchoge compared the achievement to landing on the moon, saying it was the biggest athletics milestone since Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile barrier in 1954.
"I am feeling good, after Roger Bannister it took another 65 years to make history," he said. "Now I've gone under two hours to inspire other people and show the world that nobody is limited."
However, the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) has said it will not recognize the run as an official record because it was not in open competition and used pacemakers.
