Africans get ready for two-hour marathon attempt
Three African elite athletes will attempt to run the marathon (26 miles 385 yards, 42.195 km) in under two hours in a project being sponsored by sports giant Nike.
Olympic marathon champion Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, Eritrean Zersenay Tadese, the half-marathon world-record holder, and Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa, a two-times Boston Marathon winner – will be trying to do shortly before dawn on Saturday.
Kenyan Dennis Kimetto’s current world record, set in 2014, stands at 2:02:57.
Sports scientists have been working with the team to see if a sub-two-hour marathon is humanly possible.
Nike says its Zoom Vaporfly Elite shoes, which use a special carbon-fibre plate in the soles make runners 4% more efficient than Nike’s previous fastest marathon shoe, boosting their running economy.
Also, the event will be held on the Monza Formula One track in Italy, selected for optimal temperature and wind levels.
And everything has been worked out so that the athletes record the fastest time possible:
Report
The result will however not be registered under the rules International Association of Athletics Federations.
The Guardian describes the attempt as “one-third science experiment, two‑thirds PR masterstroke and shoe advert for Nike, which has ploughed millions into the exercise”.
Source: BBC
