伦敦的一场赛跑

Speaking of an astonishing race, today we'll chat about something that happened last Sunday.

April twenty-sixth, that day was a Sunday.

In London, the capital of the UK, there was a very big competition.

This competition is called the marathon.

A marathon is a very, very long running race.

How long, exactly?

A total of forty-two kilometers and a bit.

A kilometer is one thousand meters.

Forty-two kilometers is roughly the distance of running from one city to another.

An ordinary person can't even walk that far.

But some people can run the whole thing.

These people are athletes who run for a living.

"Athletes" are people whose job is doing sports.

That day, tens of thousands of people came to watch the race.

Hundreds of millions more watched on TV.

Why did so many people watch?

Because they wanted to see one thing.

What thing?

They wanted to see whether anyone could finish in under two hours.

Two hours sounds like a lot.

But to run forty-two kilometers within two hours is extremely, extremely hard.

How hard, exactly?

For over a hundred years, no one had ever done it.

But this time, someone did!

The person who did it is called Sabbé.

Sabbé is thirty-one this year, from Kenya.

Kenya is a country in Africa.

This country has many incredibly skilled distance runners.

Sabbé is one of them.

That day, he ran extremely fast right from the start.

He ran kilometer after kilometer.

The other athletes followed behind him.

Halfway through, everyone was still together.

At thirty kilometers, Sabbé started to surge forward.

"Surge" means using your full strength to push ahead.

He ran faster and faster, leaving everyone else behind.

"Leaving them behind" means no one could catch up.

Finally, he reached the finish line.

The finish line is the place where the race ends.

He glanced at the clock.

One hour, fifty-nine minutes, thirty seconds.

Truly under two hours!

He had done it!

People all over the world were thrilled.

"Thrilled" means extremely happy, with your heart pounding.

Why so thrilled?

Because the previous best time was two hours and thirty-five seconds.

That time had been set by another Kenyan.

He was called Kiptum.

He ran it in 2023 in Chicago, USA.

That time was already amazing.

But it was still thirty-five seconds away from two hours.

Thirty-five seconds doesn't sound like much.

But to be that much faster again was simply too hard.

So many people said: it's impossible for a human to go under two hours.

"Impossible" means it cannot be done.

But this time, Sabbé did it.

And not only Sabbé.

Two more people also did it!

One of them was named Kojelcha.

He's from Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is also an African country.

He ran one hour, fifty-nine minutes, forty-one seconds.

A bit slower than Sabbé, but still under two hours.

What makes him even more impressive?

This was his very first marathon!

Running this fast in your first race — no one has ever done it before.

There's also a person called Kiplimo.

He's from Uganda, another African country.

He ran two hours and twenty-eight seconds.

Although he was over two hours, he was still faster than Kiptum's old record.

So this day, three people all broke the previous world record!

"Breaking the record" means being even better than the previous best.

The world record is the best time anywhere in the world.

Three people breaking it at the same time — incredible!

Now let's talk about the women's race.

That day, there was also a women's marathon.

The first place went to Asefa.

Asefa is from Ethiopia.

She had already been the world's fastest before.

This time, she ran even faster.

She ran two hours, fifteen minutes, forty-one seconds.

Nine seconds faster than her previous time.

So she has the world record again!

Many people ask: how can they run so fast?

The answer isn't simple.

They have to train every day.

"Training" means doing one thing over and over so you keep getting better.

They run many kilometers every day.

They eat special food to give their bodies strength.

They sleep well.

Their job is running.

That's why they can be this fast.

Also, the racecourse matters a lot.

The weather that day was good too.

Not cold and not hot.

No strong wind.

So conditions were good.

"Conditions" means the situation around you.

With good conditions, athletes can run faster.

Now let's think — what does this mean?

Under two hours sounds like just a number.

But this number represents the limits of what humans can do.

"The limit" means the farthest, fastest, best place.

People used to say: humans can't reach that place.

But Sabbé reached it.

So this tells us:

Some things look impossible.

But as long as you keep trying, you may reach them.

Not just running — it's the same with other things.

Studying too.

Work too.

No one can tell you: you can't do it.

Try, and you might just do it.

Sabbé used to be an ordinary person.

He grew up in a small village in Kenya.

He liked running from the time he was little.

He ran every day, every day.

He ran for many, many years.

Finally, he broke the world record.

So, do the things you love.

Do the things you want to do.

Don't be afraid of being slow.

Take it slow, and keep going.

In the end, you can surprise yourself too.

This is what we're talking about today.

April twenty-sixth, the London Marathon.

Sabbé from Kenya, one hour, fifty-nine minutes, thirty seconds.

The first time in human history.

In an official race, breaking two hours.

This is a day people will remember.

Maybe later someone will run even faster.

But Sabbé will always be the first.