'The best moment in my life' - Kipchoge after running marathon under two-hours

The Olympic marathon champion completed the course in one hour 59 minutes and 40 seconds around Vienna's Prater Park.

Vienna: Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, who made history on Saturday as he became the first athlete to complete a marathon in under two hours, he hopes to have provided "an injection of new blood" into the tarnished sport of athletics.

The Olympic marathon champion completed the course in one hour 59 minutes and 40 seconds around Vienna's Prater Park.

"That was the best moment in my life. When I had 500 meters to go and the time was actually to make history. You know, the pressure it was actually very picking in my shoulders, in fact, yesterday, I had a lot of pressure. I have received a lot of phone calls, a phone call for the president of Kenya, his deputy is here. I received phone calls for all over the world and all the messages from those great men, and you know, when you receive a lot of calls from high-profile people, on the other hand, it is pressure," Kipchoge said.

Kipchoge, who has no link to Salazar, was helped by 41 pacemakers along the route, seven at a time, including former Olympic and world record holders, in his attempt to achieve the historic milestone.

The use of rolling pacemakers and the race not being an open event meant it will not count as an official world record, it is, however, a moment in history that Kipchoge likened to the late Sir Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile barrier in 1954.

Lasers from a pace car helped the 34-year-old keep to his required time of 2:50 per kilometre, Kipchoge never went slower than 2:52.

He needed to run 100 metres in 17.08 seconds 422 times in a row.

Vienna was selected because of the climate, air quality and flat terrain and Kipchoge thanked the crowd who lined the course for their small part in helping him make history.