This archive report was first published on 14 October 2019.
On October 12, 2019, Eliud Kipchoge made history by breaking the two-hour barrier in the marathon, finishing in 1:59:40. However, according to Paul Bisceglio, an associate editor at The Atlantic, this achievement does not count as a world record.
‘History’s best marathoner has broken a mythical time barrier. But it doesn’t count as a world record,’ Bisceglio wrote in his article titled, The Greatest, Fakest World Record.
The INEOS 1:59 Challenge, where Kipchoge achieved this feat, was not a traditional race. Instead, it was an exhibition marathon where Kipchoge was accompanied by a rotating team of pacesetters, and the conditions were carefully arranged to help him break the two-hour barrier.
Many of Kipchoge's fans were not pleased with Bisceglio's article, with some accusing him of being jealous of Kipchoge's achievement. Others defended Bisceglio's argument, pointing out that the conditions of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge were not typical of a traditional marathon.
