On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister became the first runner to break the four-minute mile.
Eliud Kipchoge completed Nike's Breaking2 run in Monza this morning in 2:00:25.
The sub-two hour mark required a pace below four minutes and 35 seconds per mile, which the determined Kipchoge managed to match until falling behind the pace vehicle in the last two laps of the 2.4 km circuit.
But his time of two hours and 25 seconds meant he narrowly missed out on his bold attempt to break the two-hour barrier.
After more than two years of research, Nike set out to do something that no one has ever done before - have someone run 26.2 miles in less than two hours.
"We're optimizing their training", says Wilkins. Running under two hours would require a 2.4% improvement over Mr. Kimetto's record, a wide margin for a sport which typically sees world records broken by much smaller percentages. "The wall is just 25 seconds away". "When you step on the branches... immediately you go to the next one". However, as part of Nike's aim, the attempt was agonisingly short of the coveted two hour margin.
Kipchoge, 32, the 2016 Olympic champion and the 2016 victor of the London Marathon, covered the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 26 seconds, ESPN and The Associated Press reported. "That message is really special to me".
Kipchoge's effort was part of a campaign staged by Nike.
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"I think we need to accept it as it is".
"Today, millions of people around the world watched as running history was written".
"Eliud Kipchoge ran 26.2 miles faster than any human ever", Parker said.
After selecting the athletes, Nike's team sought to control as many other variables as it could and simulated how the race would go at a half-marathon test event on the track in March. "It's a moment of global inspiration that will encourage every athlete, in every community, to push the limits of their potential".
Two-time Boston Marathon victor Lelisa Desisa, from Ethiopia, and Eritrean half-marathon world-record holder Zersenay Tadese were also part of the Breaking2 project, which started at 5:45 a.m., but finished well of the pace. Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia, started falling back at 18 kilometers and struggled to finish in well over 2:10.
Rather than coinciding the attempt with one of the big city marathons such as London, Berlin, New York, or Boston, the project has chosen to stage the attempt on Monza's fixed 2.4km looped track - the location of the fastest lap in the history of Formula One. He hung on and finished in 2:14:10.
But over the remaining third of the race, which began at 0545 local time (0345 GMT, 0645EAT) in slightly humid conditions, Kipchoge steadily began to fall behind pace.
The 32-year-old originally aimed to complete the race in under 2 hours.
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