This archive report was first published on 14 October 2019.
On October 14, 2019, former US President Barack Obama took to Twitter to congratulate Kenyan athletes Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei on their remarkable marathon performances.
Obama described the two as 'remarkable examples of humanity's ability to endure and keep raising the bar', highlighting their incredible achievements in the marathon.
On Saturday, October 12, 2019, Eliud Kipchoge made history by becoming the first man to complete a marathon in under two hours, finishing the 42-kilometer race in 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 40 seconds in Vienna, Austria.
Just a day later, on Sunday, October 13, 2019, Brigid Kosgei shattered the women's marathon record, retaining her Chicago Marathon title with a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 04 seconds.
Her achievement eclipsed the 16-year-old women's marathon world record held by Britain's Paula Radcliffe, who set the record in 2003 at the London Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 25 seconds.
Radcliffe congratulated Kosgei on her record-breaking performance, saying, 'When I saw how fast Brigid was running in the first half, I knew it was going to be broken.'
