This archive report was first published on 13 October 2019.
Kenyan Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge made history on October 12, 2019, by becoming the first person to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon. He achieved this feat by running one hour 59 minutes 20 seconds in Vienna, Austria.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Kipchoge compared his achievement to Sir Roger Bannister's historic run of the first official sub-four-minute mile in 1954. Bannister's record-breaking run paved the way for other athletes to break the four-minute barrier.
“Before Roger Bannister, everybody was scared to run under four minutes,” Kipchoge said. “But after, athletes from all over the world have broken the four-minute barrier.”
Similarly, Kipchoge's achievement is expected to inspire other athletes to push beyond the two-hour barrier. He expressed his confidence in the ability of other athletes to achieve this feat, saying, “I’m showing the world that no human is limited and they can go beat two hours in a marathon.”
However, it's worth noting that Kipchoge's accomplishment in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge will not be recognized as the official marathon world record by the IAAF due to the use of pacemakers and other forms of assistance.
