World’s eyes on Eliud Kipchoge as he aims for 1:59 this morning
The day is finally here. And the question on everyone’s mind this morning is: Can Eliud Kipchoge run a sub-2hr marathon?
In 2017, he ran 2:00:25 in an attempt to be the first marathon runner under two hours. Today he’s racing the clock again.
This morning, he’ll be taking to the streets of Vienna in another specially organised event that aims to break one of distance running’s final big hurdles.
BEYOND THE BORDERS
Kipchoge has played a huge role in marketing Kenya beyond the borders.
Dozens of journalists have been accredited for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge which will be broadcast to over 200 countries, easily one of the most eagerly awaited sporting events this year.
Kipchoge skipped the 2019 World Athletics Championships and Berlin Marathon where he set the World record to train especially for today’s event.
And at exactly 9:15am Kenyan time, he will embark on this journey.
The time window of 10 days for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge was narrowed down to three days on the basis of weather forecasts and today was chosen as the perfect one.
To break the record, Kipchoge will be using specially designed shoes by Nike which will help him run faster, The Vaporfly 4%.
Nike Vaporfly 4% proved it improves running ease and speed by as much as four percent, as its name suggests.
In a marathon where runners complete the 42km distance in more than two two hours, the improvement could be significant.
The world will today be focused on one man and to those who could not be at the event in Vienna, there will be a live YouTube stream and in some countries live TV broadcast.