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Ineos is using its vast profits to roll out a series of cutting-edge sporting projects in top-level cycling, football, athletics and sailing

When Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours in Vienna this month, his performance had been meticulously planned by one of sport's major new players, the petrochemicals giant Ineos.

Founded and 60-percent owned by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos is using its vast profits to roll out a series of cutting-edge sporting projects in top-level cycling, football, athletics and sailing.

"We make six or seven billion dollars a year in profit, so what's wrong with investing a bit of that in sport?" Ratcliffe said recently.

A highly driven amateur sportsman himself, the self-made businessman was on hand to personally congratulate Kipchoge as he crossed the finish line.

With Kipchoge and his pacemakers decked out in Ineos-branded vests as he triumphantly stopped the clock at 1hr 59min 40sec, the brand was broadcast to the four corners of the earth.

The feat has propelled marathon running into a new era, even though the world athletics body IAAF do not recognize it as a world record due to the conditions in which it was conducted. A group of 35 pacemakers worked in shifts to form a V-shaped aerodynamic drag position using expertise that Ineos gained from cycling's peloton, decreasing the impact of the air on Kipchoge's body by 50-70 percent whether there was wind or not.

Research into carbohydrate intake, which is key to enhancing performance in cycling, was also used during Kipchoge's exploit.

Under the slogan "No human is limited", Ineos's efforts, or sports marketing activities, have themselves few limits.

When the 21-year-old Colombian cycling prodigy Egan Bernal won the Tour de France in July he did do under the Ineos banner after Ratcliffe stepped in to sponsor cycling's most successful outfit, formerly known as Team Sky.

"Sky was the reference in terms of sports performance promoting the name of the sponsor," Vincent Chaudel, founder of France's Observatoire du Sport Business, told AFP of the setup that won five Tour de France titles in six years in the colors of the media company.

- "Red Bull-type strategy" -

Football is also part of the Ineos sports business plan and Ratcliffe, a lifelong Manchester United fan, has been mentioned as a possible future owner of Chelsea, if Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich ever sells the Premier League club. Its Stamford Bridge stadium is close to Ineos's Knightsbridge headquarters.

Having previously bought and so far failed to revive the fortunes of Swiss club Lausanne Sport, Ineos bought French top-flight club Nice in the close season with a view to helping them into the Champions League.

"Lausanne was an investment to be close to the major sports bodies," Chaudel said, noting that the International Olympic Committee are based in the city and UEFA's headquarters are in Nyon, 40 kilometers away. "The Nice investment came with a new stadium that is already built. And the Riviera has marketing potential."

Ineos has also provided Britain's Olympic medal-winning sailor Ben Ainslee with a 110-million-euro ($121.6-million) yacht in a bid to bring the America's Cup back to Britain in 2021.

"The strategy is similar to Red Bull where they are not just sponsors but owners. Look at the marathon, they organized it down to the last detail, mastering every aspect of the operation," Virgile Caillet, the general delegate of' Union Sport & Cycle, a body representing 1,400 sports businesses.

"Ineos is a big international group working in a sector which is not the most virtuous sector. While cycling, running, sailing are all environmentally sound sports."

Eliud Kipchoge and his technical team are expected to land in Vienna Tuesday for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge this weekend

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge and his technical staff are expected to land in Vienna Tuesday morning ahead of the “INEOS 1:59 Challenge” this weekend.

The Olympic marathon champion was Monday night treated to the affluence that one of Great Britain’s richest persons, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is accustomed to.

Kipchoge left for Vienna aboard Sir Jim’s Gulfstream G280, which was flown by two pilots from his British base to fly Kipchoge to the Austrian capital.

The jet, valued at $24.5 million, has got Kenyans on social media talking about Kipchoge's attempt to become the first man to run the 42-kilometer distance in under two hours this weekend.

"Eliud Kipchoge" is like a human machine. Pride of Kenya and the son of the Land. There is Mursik waiting for you Legend. Know that you inspire many across the board."

"The fact that Eliud Kipchoge is attempting the INEOS 1:59 record affirms his place in the annals of athletics history. The attempt alone is enough, the victory would be a bonus. He is no longer running against man, he is running against time."

"No longer running against other men, he's running against time. INEOS1:59. KENYA is proud of you Eliud kipchoge. See you on 12th Oct 2019."

Scottish film director Kevin Macdonald is going to be making a documentary on Eliud Kipchoge's plans to break the two-hour barrier for 26.2 miles

Eliud Kipchoge is the marathon world record holder with a time of 2:01:39. In October in Vienna he will be attempting to run the first sub two hour time for 26.2 miles.  It won’t count as a world record, however since it is being run as a time trial but still the feat would be off the charts.  

Kevin Macdonald is expected to land in Kenya soon. While in the country, he will be taken around by filmmakers associated with Ginger Ink, who is known for producing some of Kenya's award-winning movies like 'Supa Modo' and 'Nairobi Half Life'. The two movies by Ginger Ink have been submitted for the Oscars.

The Eliud Kipchoge documentary, which will be shot in Iten, is funded by Britain’s billionaire  Jim Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe founded chemicals group INEOS and is estimated by London-based Sunday Times Rich List to be worth 21 billion pounds (25.5 billion US).

Ratcliffe was born in Failsworth, Lancashire. He studied chemical engineering and got his first job at oil company Esso.

He started making his fortune by mortgaging his house in 1992 to finance a buyout of a BP chemicals business and formed INEOS in 1998.

Today his fortune is valued at 21 billion pounds, and in May 2018, he was named the richest person in the UK.

Macdonald is known for shooting captivating documentaries. He worked with the film production team Altitude, who created a 2018 documentary based on Whitney Houston's life and death.

This was the first Whitney Houston documentary to be officially authorised by the estate and includes never-before-seen footage of Houston, exclusive demo recordings, rare performances and interviews with luminaries like Clive Davis.

He said, "The story that is never told about Whitney is just how brilliant she was as an artiste. By many measures, she had the greatest voice of the last 50 years. She changed the way pop music was sung, bringing it back full circle to its blues and gospel roots."

He plans on doing an equally exciting documentary on Eluid Kipchoge.  

Organizer Jim Ratcliffe says this about the sub two hour marathon attempt coming up: Nobody's been able to achieve this. It's not unlike trying to put a man on the moon.

Eliud Kipchoge will attempt to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon in Vienna in October after London was snubbed for the Ineos 1:59 Challenge.

The challenge - 65 years after Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile - had been thought more likely to take place in the UK after the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha.

Instead, the Kenyan world record-holder will make his second bid to run the first sub-two-hour marathon in the Austrian capital on October 12.

"After an extensive worldwide assessment process, The Prater - the famous Viennese park - has been chosen by the INEOS 1:59 Challenge as the venue that will give Kipchoge the optimum conditions to write himself into the history books," Ineos said.

Kipchoge ran the marathon in a time of two hours and 25 seconds on the Monza race track in Italy in his previous attempt to break the two-hour mark. He was assisted by pacemakers who ran set sections of the course on that occasion, meaning it was not recognised as a world record.

The 34-year-old 2016 Olympic gold medal winner set the current world record in Berlin last September when running 2:01:39, beating the previous best by 78 seconds.

He also ran the second-fastest time in history when completing the London marathon in April in a time of 2:02:37.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos chairman, said: "Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest ever marathon runner and the only athlete in the world who has any chance of beating the two-hour time.

"Nobody's been able to achieve this. It's not unlike trying to put a man on the moon."

Eliud Kipchoge says his move to make a second attempt at running a marathon under two hours is spurred by the urge to test the human body and not the money involved

On Monday, Kipchoge announced he will be involved in another go at “breaking two” in a specially organised race, probably in London, “between late September and early October.”

In the first attempt of the Nike-engineered “Breaking2” project, Kipchoge, 35, powered by a cocktail of pacemakers on the Monza Formula One racetrack, ran two hour and 25 seconds, falling agonisingly close to breaking the two-hour barrier on May 6, 2017.

This time around, the race dubbed “INEOS 1:59 Challenge” will be funded by one of the richest men in England, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of chemical manufacturing company INEOS.

“My team doesn’t put money in front and for sure it’s not about business and money involved.” said Kipchoge, the marathon world record holder, who declined to state how much he will be paid in compensation.

“The sponsor, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, loves sports and wants me to try it again. It is always good to challenge myself and the world. It’s good to make history, it’s good to leave a memorable mark in athletics, “added Kipchoge.

“There is nothing impossible in this world and that is why I want to erase the notion that no human being is limited.”

Kipchoge set a new marathon world record last year in Berlin when he triumphed in two hours, one minute and 39 seconds and would run the second fastest time after his record, when winning this year’s London Marathon in two hours, two minutes and 37 seconds on April 28.

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge will once again attempt to become the first athlete to break the two-hour marathon barrier in an event being staged in London later this year

Dubbed the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, this race against the clock -- to be staged in late September or early October -- is being backed by Britain's richest man Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire owner of chemical firm INEOS, which recently purchased British Cycling's Team Sky.

"It's human nature to push boundaries," said the INEOS 1:59 Challenge website. "The drive to learn and achieve more is in our DNA. In Autumn this year Eliud Kipchoge, with support from INEOS, plans to redefine the limits of human achievement by breaking the last great barrier of modern athletics -- the two-hour marathon."

Last week Ratcliffe and INEOS were accused by environmental protesters of "sportswashing" -- using sport to enhance reputation -- an accusation the Briton completely rejects.

Speaking to reporters ahead of cycling's Tour de Yorkshire, Ratcliffe took aim at those who criticized his company's fracking project, claiming the majority of environmental groups he has met are "ignorant" of the process, adding it remains a cheap source of energy.

Current world record holder Kipchoge recorded a time of 2:00.25 during a similar event at Monza -- home of the Formula One Italian Grand Prix -- in 2017 wasn't recognized as a world record as it did not adhere to the rules laid out by athletics' governing body, the IAAF, notably in the way he was helped by "in-out" pacemakers. The London attempt will also not be ratified.

The 34-year-old Kenyan set a new record time for the London marathon earlier this month as he claimed a fourth triumph in the event -- a record for a male athlete.

His time of two hours, two minutes and 37 seconds was the second fastest marathon of all time -- just behind his own world record of two hours, one minute and 39 seconds which was recorded in Berlin in September 2018.

"This would really surpass everything because this will go in the history as far as the human family is concerned," Kipchoge told reporters ahead of Monday's event launch, which took place 65 years to the day since Britain's Roger Bannister became the first man to break the four minute mile.

According to reports, Kipchoge's attempt in London will use a number of pacemakers who run laps, while dipping in and out of the action, in order to maintain the astonishing pace of two minutes, 50 seconds per kilometer needed to go under two hours.

"It is not about recognition or ratification but to make history and to pass on a message that no human is limited. Running the fastest-ever marathon of 2:00.25 was the proudest moment of my career," added Kipchoge.

Ratcliffe also had to defend INEOS over its use of plastics after its acquisition of Team Sky, which had been leading a campaign against single-use plastics and Ocean Rescue campaign.

"We've spent 30 years working on the INEOS project and made it very large and very profitable," Ratcliffe said.

"We make $5-7 billion a year in profit so there's no harm in investing a modest amount of that into very worthy sporting endeavors which we enjoy.

"If they inspire people towards a healthier lifestyle, that's a good thing but there's also nothing wrong in investing money in something simply enjoyable. I like the theatre, I like opera. But I prefer sport."

Ratcliffe, a keen cyclist and a well known running enthusiast, also sponsors children's running charities, GO Run For Fun and The Daily Mile, with the aim of getting more young people into the sport.

"If Eliud has got a fantastic crowd cheering him on, its going to make a bit of difference and we don't need to make a lot of difference to make up 26 seconds," he told reporters.

"I was in the pace car in front of Eliud for the London Marathon and he was looking very serene and comfortable. He's still getting better.

"Eliud is the finest marathon runner there has ever been and I think it will be very inspirational, to get kids putting running shoes on.

"It would be an extraordinary achievement. It's almost super-human, isn't it really? To break two hours in a marathon is quite unthinkable."