Good day,
the world record in the distance traveled in 24 hours has been broken. Coincidentally, after 24 years.
At the end of August, Alexander Sorokin from Lithuania took care of this, running 309.4 km in one day at an event in Poland.
This is an exceptional performance and a significant milestone in the world of ultra-running, as no one even came close to the previous record (303.5 km) in almost a quarter of a century.
Several endurance athletes tried it, including leading figures in the sport.
Aleksandr Sorokin started running without competition ambitions when he was 32 years old. He just wanted to improve his lifestyle by fighting alcohol, cigarettes and being overweight.
A few months later, he picked up a tossed paper from the ground with an invitation to a 100-kilometer race. Thus began his journey to ultra-running and he will celebrate his 40th birthday next week as a world recorder.
Today, he says that the pandemic also helped him significantly, and the public is discussing how much he benefited from carbon-soled shoes.
The new 24-hour maximum is still awaiting official approval, but this should only be a formality.
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In the history of ultrasound, you would not find a more dominant athlete like Yiannis Kouros from Greece. He broke one world record after another in the 80’s and 90’s, and when he started to overtake his opponents all day on long runs, the organizers let him start 12 hours after the other runners.
Several records set by the Greek perseverer are still valid today.
Kouros kept the best of his repertoire at the end of his career, when in 1997 he broke his own world record in 24-hour running. He completed 303 kilometers a day on the track in Adelaide, Australia, and said at the finish line that he would no longer run this discipline. He didn’t consider it necessary. “This record will last for centuries,” he said.
The self-confident statement was only partially fulfilled. Although the record lasted a long time, after 24 years it was surpassed by Alexander Sorokin from Lithuania. An endurance man who didn’t even think about running 10 years ago.
Paper on the ground
“When I was young, I went kayaking, but after an injury, I decided to end my career. Then it started. Alcohol, cigarettes and lots of food. I weighed about 100 kilograms. One day I said to myself:
