Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge has run the quickest Marathon in history, just missing out on breaking the two-hour mark.
Kipchoge was taking part in a Nike event at Monza, where three athletes, with the help of pacers, tried to become the first athlete in history to run the 26.2 miles in under 120 minutes. The Kenyan was the first person to complete the race, finishing in 2:00:25.
63 years to the day after Roger Bannister became the first athlete to break the four-minute mile, Kipchoge was on course to break the two hours at the half-way mark, but faded in the second-half of the race.
Eliud Kipchoge - 2:00:25
The barrier just got that much closer. #Breaking2 #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/A9fb1wZt1X— Nike (@Nike) May 6, 2017
Kipchoge's time does not count as a World Record, due to the conditions of the race at Monza. Pacers were used during the record attempt at various intervals, in a bid to help Kipchoge, Lelisa Desisa and Zersenay Tadese.
The Rio 2016 champion was the only one who looked likely to break the record after his compatriots both pulled out of the attempt before the half-way mark, unable to cope the historic pace.
Denis Kimetto's World Record time from the Berlin Marathon in 2014 of 2:02:57 was easily broken, by over two-and-a-half minutes. Kimetto's World Record remains intact though.
"I hope next time, it's possible for anyone to run under two hours", Kipchoge revealed moments after his historic run.
When Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile in 1954, the World Record for the Marathon stood at 2:18:34. The change of breaking two-hours now looks closer than ever.
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