Olympic Marathon World Record holder and now the INEOS 159 champion Eliud Kipchoge is in mourning after remembering a man who helped him greatly prepare for sub-two-hours marathon victory.
The athletics superstar took to his Twitter handle with a bracelet christened “Sandy” to mourn the late Sandy Bodecker.
Sandy worked with Nike for 36 years and died as the Vice President of Special Projects whose greatest achievement was organizing the Nike Breaking2.
Sandy, we did it. pic.twitter.com/FTuMqZoD4n
— Eliud Kipchoge (@EliudKipchoge) October 14, 2019
The Breaking2 race which took place in Italy was won by Eliud Kipchoge in 2017 after he clocked 2:00:25. This was only 26 seconds shy from coming below 2 hours.
Reports have it that Sandy was so immersed into the idea of breaking the 2-hour barrier that he tattooed the time 1:59:59 into his left wrist.
“The sub-two-hour marathon is the last big, once-in-a-generation barrier,” he said at the time. “It will impact the way runners view distance running and human potential forever.”
Sandy who joined the Nike team as a shoe-wear tester rose through the ranks to become the brand’s go-to guy. He would proceed to popularize Nike abroad and increase its market share.
He died on October 2018 after battling cancer for several years.
Kipchoge had earlier marked Sandy’s anniversary on October 4, but would remember to give credit to the late Nike manager of special projects after his win on Saturday.
Kipchoge broke the two-hour barrier by clocking 1:59:40 in Vienna Austria during the INEOS 159 challenge organized by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.