Kipchoge’s trip to moon

WHILE Mo Farah was fighting against the limits of his ability and circumstances in Chicago, Eliud Kipchoge was able to reflect on the barrier-breaking success of his trip to Vienna. In recording a time of 1hr 59min 40.2sec for 26.2 miles on Saturday, Kipchoge delivered on his promise of a moon shot sporting achievement by breaking two hours. It was the first prong of a Kenyan marathon hat-trick at the weekend, with Brigid Kosgei going on to break Paula Radcliffe’s women’s world record — set at the London Marathon in 2003 — by more than a minute in Chicago yesterday and Lawrence Cherono winning the men’s event. All three wore variants of the controversial Nike Vaporfly running shoes, with Kipchoge’s developmental version not available for personal use and rumoured to improve running economy by as much as eight per cent. ‘We went to the moon and came back to earth,’ said Kipchoge (left), whose breaking of the two-hour mark has been compared to Roger Bannister going under four minutes for a mile in 1954. The 34-year-old, who fell 26 seconds short in an earlier attempt in 2017, added: ‘I am at a loss for words for all the support I have received from all over the world. Thank you to all who gave me the opportunity. Asante. ‘I’m feeling good. After Roger Bannister made history, it took me another 65 years. I’ve tried but I’ve done it.’ Kipchoge’s time will not be formally ratified owing to the shoes and the conditions under which he ran, including the use of drop-in pacemakers and the circuit course. According to the Mercier scoring system for comparing track and field achievements, Kipchoge’s time would be equivalent to a 9.52sec run in the 100m, a 9.12m long jump or a 102.10m throw in the javelin — and each would be a world record.