Eliud Kipchoge just broke the marathon’s two-hour barrier, and KU Leuven research helped him do it

Kipchoge broke the record thanks to a special arrangement of runners, among other things. Professor Bert Blocken (KU Leuven/TU Eindhoven) confirmed the superior performance of this formation with wind tunnel tests and computer simulations. Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge has become the first person to ever complete a marathon within two hours. Taking part in the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, the Olympic champion and world record holder for the marathon stopped the clock after 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 40 seconds. The record attempt was completed under optimised conditions. Part of this was a special arrangement of runners, who surrounded Kipchoge in order to lower the air resistance as much as possible. The superior performance of this formation was confirmed by wind tunnel tests and computer simulations by Professor Bert Blocken (KU Leuven and TU Eindhoven).