After Eliud Kipchoge achieved his dream of running a marathon in under two hours, focus shifted to factors that favoured his win.
Other than the strategies which were deployed by his team, it has emerged that his shoes also played a huge role.
Kipchoge wore the latest model of the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly shoes called the NEXT%. The shoes were customised to aide the 34-year-old athlete in his attempt to achieve the great feat.
According to Footpatrol - an online footwear retailer - the shoes cost 240 sterling pounds which is approximately Ksh31,678.
The shoes boast of Nike’s ultra-light, ultra-responsive ZoomX technology to help with unprecedented levels of responsive cushioning.
It also has a highly-efficient carbon-fibre plate in the midsole which prevents energy loss to power a person's strides.
According to The Telegraph, the shoes are so effective that “there have even been instances of international runners sponsored by other companies wearing the Vaporfly and drawing over them in an attempt to hide the Nike branding.”
Kipchoge became Saturday the first man to run the marathon under two hours after clocking 1:59:40 during the INEOS 1:59 Challenge at Prater Park in Vienna, Austria.
He was assisted by 41 pacemakers who ran in groups of seven, five were constantly ahead of Kipchoge in a 'V' formation, while two were behind him.
Here are the photos:
