For the first time in history, an athlete has succeeded in breaking the two-hour barrier for running a marathon. The achievement belongs to Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge, who completed the distance of 26.2 miles (just over 42 kilometres) in Vienna on October 12 in one hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds. His feat will not feature in the official record books because of help he received on the day from a number of unconventional sources, one of which, according to some commentators at least, was his shoes.

Share this story: