This archive report was first published on 24 November 2019.
On October 12, 2019, in Vienna, Eliud Kipchoge made history by becoming the first human to run under two hours in a marathon, clocking 1:59:40.
He was awarded the World Athletics athlete of the year title for the second time, retaining the award he won in 2018.
The Kenyan Olympic champion used rotating pacemakers during his record-breaking run, which is why the time is unofficial.
However, Kipchoge also holds the official world record of 2:01:39, set in Berlin in 2018.
"I'm happy to be the first human being to run under two hours," Kipchoge said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Dalilah Muhammad broke her own world record in the 400m hurdles at the world championships in Doha in October 2019, clocking 52.16 seconds.
The 29-year-old American athlete was also named World Athletics athlete of the year, citing it as an "amazing year" and expressing her determination to defend her Olympic title in Tokyo next year.
"It's been a tough year and it's just come home excellently. I never imagined coming home with this," Muhammad said.
