USA’s World and Olympic 5000m medalist Paul Chelimo plus Switzerland’s Julien Wanders, are among the latest star names to be added to Eliud Kipchoge’s pacemaking team for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge

They will all be tasked with helping Kipchoge make history by becoming the first man to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon in Vienna in October.

Chelimo, who won a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics and a bronze medal at the World Championships a year later, will be flying to Vienna – the host city of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge – from this year’s World Championships in Doha.

He said: “I have been fortunate to win medals at both of the past two major championships and I will be hoping to continue that trend in Doha before heading to Vienna to help Eliud try to make history. If I am able to achieve both those goals it will be a truly memorable period in my career.”

Wanders, who spends much of his year living and training in Kenya, holds the European record for the half marathon (59:13) and 10km (27:25), and will also be racing in both the 5000m and 10000m at the World Championships in Doha.

He said: “As someone who spends a lot of time in Kenya, I know how important running is to the Kenyan people and how proud they will be if Eliud is able to become the first man to run sub two hours for the marathon. It’s a great honour for me to have been asked to be part of this amazing project.”

Paul Chelimo (USA, 28): The Kenyan-born American is a proven performer on the biggest stages. He won a silver medal in the 5000m at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and backed that up with a bronze medal over the same distance at the World Championships in London in 2017.

Julien Wanders (SUI, 23): Based in Kenya for much of the year, Wanders is the European record holder for both the half marathon (59:13) and 10km (27:25). He also holds the world 5km record (13:29) which he set in Monaco earlier this year.

posted Wednesday August 28th