Kelvin Kiptum on whether he will attempt to break sub-two hour marathon barrier

ATHLETICS Kelvin Kiptum on whether he will attempt to break sub-two hour marathon barrier

Abigael Wafula 05:28 - 12.10.2023

Kelvin Kiptum has finally responded to questions on whether he will attempt the sub-two-hour marathon.

After his scintillating run at the Chicago Marathon that saw him become the first man to run sub-2:01, many have been curious to know whether Kelvin Kiptum will attempt the sub-two-hour marathon.

Kiptum clocked 2:00:35 to completely obliterate Eliud Kipchoge’s world record time of 2:01:09 that he set during the 2022 Berlin Marathon.

He got close to running a sub-two-hour marathon and when asked whether that is in his plans during a post-race interview, he denied the feat being part of his plans.

“A sub-two-hour marathon is not on my mind right now,” the 23-year-old said.

It might be too early to start thinking about the running under two hours but Kiptum might eventually put that into consideration.

The only other man who has run a sub-two-hour marathon is Kipchoge. He participated in an event named the INEOS 1:59 Challenge on October 12, 2019, in Vienna's Prater Park.

Kipchoge ran 4.4 laps of the Hauptallee in 1:59:40, to become the first person in recorded history to break the two-hour barrier over a marathon distance.

However, his time was not recognised by World Athletics as a world record due to the setup of the challenge.

If Kiptum manages to do it under the right conditions, his time will be recognised as a world record and he will technically be the first man to run under two hours recognised by World Athletics.

The youngster made his debut at the 2022 Valencia Marathon, clocking the fastest time in a debut to win the race before his win at the London Marathon this year where he clocked the second-fastest time to win the race.

The Chicago Marathon was his third marathon and it was his first time competing on American soil.

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