Sport / Other Sport Is the upcoming attempt at a sub-two-hour marathon legit, or just a gimmick? Nike’s Breaking2 project, with its handpicked trio of elite athletes, pacemakers and hi-tech aid, has split opinion between purists and those who welcome any assistance but chemical BL PREMIUM

London — This weekend, aided by a host of technological and environmental advances, three carefully-selected elite African athletes will attempt to run the first sub-two hour marathon. The Breaking2 project is the latest enterprise of American sportswear giant Nike and has split opinion in the world of athletics, not to mention physiology. In one camp are the purists, who claim that the host of benefits being bestowed on the runners, including revolutionary shoes, a pack of interchangeable pacemakers and a non-traditional course, mean the attempt is a marketing gimmick. In some ways this is possibly the worst time to start shouting about fast marathon times with Kenya’s Rio Olympic and London marathon champion Jemima Sumgong’s recent positive doping test landing a body blow to the event. Nike, and others, however, insist projects like Breaking2 show that a combination of talent, training and technology can produce astounding results without the need for chemical assistance. Many peo...