Kenya's Kipchoge becomes first person to run marathon in under 2 hours

Marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours, clocking 1:59:40.2 here on Saturday.

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge (white jersey) celebrates as he crosses the finish line at the end of his attempt to bust the mythical two-hour barrier for the marathon on October 12, 2019 in Vienna. [Photo: VCG]

In a race designed for him, the "Ineos 1:59 Challenge", starting at 8:15 a.m. local time on the Reichsbrucke, the 34-year-old Kenyan ran four laps on the Prater main avenue with the support of alternating teams of pacesetters, including five-time Olympian Bernard Lagat and the three extraordinary Ingebrigtsen brothers from Norway.

"I am feeling good. It has taken 65 years for a human to make history in sport. After Roger Bannister [the first person to break the 4-minute mile in 1954] it took another 65 years ... I'm happy to be the man to run under two hours. No human is limited, and I'm expecting more people to do it after today," said Kipchoge after the race.

"The 41 pacemakers are among the best athletes in the whole world ... to all of them I want to say thank you, thank you for doing the job. We made history together," he added.

Speaking in Vienna during Kipchoge's run, four-times Tour de France champion Chris Froome said: "It's phenomenal, it's fantastic, it's just incredible to watch him - it looks like he's not even breathing. He's just gliding over the road. It's fantastic to be here, and be part of this atmosphere."

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta sent his "hearty congratulations", writing on Twitter: "You've done it, you've made history and made Kenya proud while at it. Your win today, will inspire tens of future generations to dream big and to aspire for greatness."

Kipchoge is arguably the greatest marathon runner of all-time, claiming victory in ten out of 11 marathons, racking up an unprecedented nine successive victories over the 42.195km distance.

With a stunning 2:01:39, he broke the world marathon record in Berlin last year by 78 seconds, which is the largest single improvement on the world record in more than 50 years.

Kipchoge failed in his first bid to complete the first sub-two hour marathon by an agonizing 25 seconds in Italy in 2017.

The achievement will not be recognized as a world record as it was not an open competition.