- Since time immemorial, humanity has witnessed innumerable occurrences that were hitherto considered impossible to achieve. Not only that, but some of the achievements have also provedthat human ingenuity is always primed to scale up when everyone appears to give up. And they invariably throw up surprises for the sheer audacity with which some of the most daring dreams are realized after enduring tremendous challenges/obstacles along the way. Looking back in history would show how humankind has evolved over the years, demonstrating remarkable resilience on the back of a never-say-die attitude to scale seemingly insurmountable challenges. That’s the reason why every generation reaps the benefits of enterprising human beings’ big time.
PC: The Sporting News
- While humanity keeps surging ahead, conquering unknown and unforgiving territories through inhuman efforts ably supplemented by unshakeable belief in literally every walk of life, mere mortals like us are left wondering what drives some of the most astonishing people to undertake those adventures with such conviction. To what extent human endurance can be pushed was on display recently in the sporting arena. Mind you, sports is an area where very few individuals have scaled up to Himalayan heights through perseverance, determination, doggedness, and constant push to excellence. 26th April will go down in history like May 6, 1954, when Roger Bannister broke the 40minute-mile barrier. Or July 13, 1985, when Sergey Bubka pole-vaulted over 6m.
PC: Inc. Magazine
- It’s one of those rare days when humans have shoved impossible so hard, it’s stumbled back. Sunday was the 2-hour-marathon barrier’s turn. Kenyan Sabastian Sawe finished the London Marathon with 30 seconds to spare, and Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha came in 11 seconds later. The result wasn’t merely unexpected, but unthinkable. Over the past 10 years, millions of dollars have been spent in pursuit of a sub-2-hour marathon. Nike famously worked with Eliud Kipchoge, designing special shoes, training, and diet plans for him. But his 1:59:40 finish at a 2019 exhibition run didn’t qualify as a record because of all the help he had. Sawe and Kejelcha made their mark on Sunday, simply the regular way.
PC: HuffPost
- Sawe’s new record is only 65 seconds faster than Kelvin Kiptum’s previous marathon record, set in 2023. But over 130 years of the modern marathon – starting at the 1896 Olympics – runners have knocked off an hour. How fast might we be a century from now? Is a 1-hour marathon possible? Probably not. Per American physiologist Michael Joyner, a time of 1:57:58 would hit the human metabolic limit. But that’s still 92 seconds of improvement worth striving for. And the thing about barriers is that they’re often mental. Before Bannister’s 4-minute mile, experts theorized that running so fast could be fatal. As the sporting jargon goes on, the records are meant to be broken, and they will be. The question is not how but when. Let’s look forward to amazing occurrences.
