Watch the cyclist behind Eliud Kipchoge’s incredible marathon world record
Claus-Henning Schulke is the man behind the runner's hydration
On Sunday at the Berlin Marathon, Kenyyan Eliud Kipchoge broke the marathon world record by 30 seconds, and he had huge help with his hydration-on-a-bike guy, Claus-Henning Schulke.
As small as the role of simply passing the hydration bottle to the fastest marathoner in history may seem, Schulke might be the best in the world at doing it. There are 13 stations in the marathon, each one a few kilometers apart. That means that each time Schulke gave Kipchoge a bottle, he had to quickly remount his bike and ride ahead. Remember, these runners average just over 21 km/h, so he doesn’t have much time to get to the next feed station.
Schulke, a 56-year-old triathlete from Berlin, first worked with Kipchoge in 2018, when he set the world record of 2:01:39. Schulke has been volunteering at the Berlin Marathon since 1998 and is the senior member of the 30-person crew in charge of getting the elite athletes their drinks during the race.
When Schulke completed his handover to Kipchoge at the first hydration station, Schulke did his fist-pumping celebration, as he famously did in 2018.
Check out the amazing effort from Schulke during Sunday’s marathon:
⚡️Ever wondered how do elites plan their hydration during the race? So Ellud Kipchoge has got a dedicated bottle man, Claus-Henning Schulke. pic.twitter.com/QbfV2PG1Ru
— AM Reports ™ (@AMReportsHQ) September 25, 2022
