‘I thought I read it wrong’ | Relief

“This I read it and said, “I read it wrong.”. You saw the brand, read “Chicago” and said, “This can’t be a marathon,” until I saw world record“. Alessandra Aguilar He still hesitates when he remembers learning of the news that revolutionized the world of athletics on Sunday, Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich’s record, a mark the Games king of the sport will never forget: 2:09:56.

The record achieved in Chicago is one of the records of the century, as evidenced by the reaction award-winning international athlete Juan Carlos Higuerotoday TVE commentator: “I couldn’t see it live and thought it was a journalist’s mistake.. Stunned, I couldn’t believe it, I was careful and didn’t want to put anything in until I saw it with my own eyes. He told me that ‘it could have been a mistake by the organization’ because that record doesn’t come to your mind.”

Aguilar and Higuero split the training group under orders the first Spaniard to show a result under 2 hours 10 minutes in the marathon: Antonio Serrano. “We were almost at the same rhythm, with the same average pace,” recalls the famous coach, comparing his performance in Berlin in 1994 (2:09:13) with Chepngetich’s performance last Sunday in Chicago.

The historical Martin Fiss struck a record on his social networks comparable to how it took a person 2 hours to overcome the mythical 42 km and 195 m.. Not for nothing, when the Basque marathon runner won the World Championships in 1995, he set a time of 2:11:41, and a year earlier, when he won the European Championships (in the legendary Helsinki Triple), his record was 2:10:31. Of course, his personal best, 2:08:05, continues to resist Chepngetich effectLet’s see how long.

Looking back, Alessandra Aguilar remembers that Paula Radcliffe performing at the London Marathon in 2003 (over time 2:15.25). “Paula’s record seemed like a sky-high mark to me, and it took a lot of effort to break it,” she notes of the record, which stood until 2019. Also at the Chicago Marathon, the Kenyan Marathon Bridget Kosgei She snatched glory from the British 16 years later (2:14.04). Then the Ethiopian arrived Tigst Assefa in Berlin in 2023 with a record from another planet (2:11:53). Until a woman from another galaxy showed up on Sunday.

“What happened in Chicago It was a historic moment not only for women’s athletics, but for sports in general.. This feat surpasses all limits, this woman defies physics by running 42km at 3ft 04in,” continues Higuero, who remains “amazing” like his former teammate Aguilar. “People talk about the two-hour distance that Kipchoge ran (at an unapproved exhibition in Vienna), but to me it seems wilder,” concludes the Galician marathon runner.

Higuero and Aguilar emphasize the technological revolution, “with magic slippers” for the flag, as the main reason for the stunning progress of brandsfor what they give in the race and for the fact that they help in training, “with less muscle load and better recovery.” A shoe that, according to the Lugo native, has even more flexibility on the road than on the track.

Coming soon sub 2 hours for boys

Antonio Serrano, a cook before becoming a monk, takes the floor. “This is an unusual topic. The track is good, the girl is very good and was very brave. It’s not for nothing that she was already a world champion and won twice in Chicago.. Moreover, he was lucky that the girls (being mixed race) they can bring the hare to the end” he points out, before emphasizing: “To create these impressive brands, they have to be great people, and Ruth is that.” The warning is clear: “Let’s not get crazy, not everyone is going to create these brands. YesThese were people whose days were numbered when the stars would align.“.

Serrano remembers this”Women’s athletics became professional much laterTherefore, “these achievements (shoes, hares, training, nutrition…) show that women had many opportunities to improve“. It is undeniable that “everything has changed a lot in a few years.” But the evolution is not only in shoes: “Significant improvements are occurring in the areas of hydration and nutrition.. I ran with water. I hit a wall, a slump after 30 or 35 km, my calf was bothering me… Now there are people who do the second half even faster than the first. That is, they don’t have a wall.”

The international coach emphasizes the “challenge effect” when it comes to achieving these records for individual players. And he extrapolates this to the male case. “Now I see that it is quite possible for boys to reduce the time to two hours.. Seeing someone stick around has a big impact. While there is an athlete who believes in it like this girl and beats the average at 59, we’ll definitely be under two hours“. Kiplimo, Barega and company are in the pools of the future. “Of course they’ll need a hare to get them to 25 or 30 and break the average in 59 minutes.” As Higuero says, talking about the feminine record, they are like conversations from the year 2100.