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https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshualaw/2019/10/13/eliud-kipchoge-has-thrust-himself-into-the-pantheon-of-all-time-greatsbut-his-sub-two-hour-marathon-is-tainted-by-association/
36409 views|Oct 13, 2019,1:32 pm
Eliud Kipchoge Thrusts Himself Into Sports Pantheon, But His Sub-Two-Hour Marathon Is Tainted By Association
Eliud Kipchoge Thrusts Himself Into Sports Pantheon, But His Sub-Two-Hour Marathon Is Tainted By Association
Joshua LawContributor
I cover stories from across the world of sport, with a focus on soccer in England and South America.
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AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Nelson Mandela probably wasn’t talking about running 26 miles 385 yards very, very quickly, but this weekend, in the middle of a leafy park in the Austrian capital Vienna, the great South African leader’s words seemed as applicable as ever. Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan distance runner, thrust himself into the pantheon of all-time great athletes by becoming the first person to complete a marathon in under two hours.
As Kipchoge crossed the line in a time of 1:59:40, pointing and waving to the crowd and looking as relaxed as someone who was taking a Sunday morning stroll in the park, a broad grin spread across his face. Well it might. This was a truly magnificent achievement – the biggest psychological sporting barrier to be shattered since Roger Bannister ran a mile in under four minutes in 1954. “It is a great feeling to make history in sport after Sir Roger Bannister,” Kipchoge said after the race. “I am the happiest man in the world to be the first human to run under two hours, and I can tell people that no human is limited.”
Yet the feeling that this momentous occasion and the purity of Kipchoge’s pursuit are tainted by association is inescapable. The 1:59 challenge, as the event was marketed, was funded in huge part by the petrochemicals giant Ineos, whose chairman, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, reportedly pumped around $19 million into this attempt. To add to the discomfort, Kipchoge himself is sponsored by American sportwear behemoth Nike, which has been involved in an enormous scandal over the last week as coach Alberto Salazar, founder of the Nike Oregon Project, was found guilty of what the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency referred to as “orchestrated doping.”
AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
There have been some questions about the money itself, the 41 rotating pacemakers, the electric car with laser beams that helped maintain the runners’ rhythm and even the shoes that Kipchoge wore – the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly – which feature a carbon fiber plate in the sole, increase performance by over 4% and will go on sale for around $300 in the coming months. But sporting technology and strategy are in constant evolution; that is a small part of what makes watching any athletic endeavor so enthralling and should not be used as a brush with which to spread tar over the Kenyan’s achievement.
The source of those resources, though, is of more concern.
Ineos, a company founded and still majority-owned by Britain’s richest man, Jim Ratcliffe, is one of the world’s foremost producers of non-degradable plastics, a product that threatens the health of our oceans. As well as sponsoring the 1:59 challenge, Ratcliffe controls French soccer club OCG Nice, the British America’s Cup sailing team and the ultra-successful cycling squad Team Ineos, formerly known as Team Sky, whose riders have won the famous yellow jersey at seven of the last eight Tours de France.
When the deal to fund the cycling outfit was announced in 2018, Tony Bosworth, a campaigner from environmental charity Friends of the Earth, reacted by saying: “Taking over Team Sky is the latest blatant attempt at greenwashing by Ineos. Cycling is one the UK's most successful and popular sports, but do the likes of [Tour winners] Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome really want to be associated with a planet-wrecking company like Ineos?”
The same question will be asked of Kipchoge. Ineos’ branding was plastered across every available surface as the 34-year-old made his way around the circuit in Vienna and was even more prominent as he crossed the line. That image has already been shown across the world, and with it the Ineos campaign to cleanse its reputation continues to expand. That Ratcliffe chose to associate his brand with two sports in cycling and running that promote environmentally friendly forms of transportation feels uncomfortable but is surely not a coincidence.
APA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
The Nike links, while not as disturbing as those to Ineos, are also unfortunate, especially in a week that has been so damaging for the brand and has drawn a dark cloud over the world of athletics. Kipchoge himself, it must be said, had never trained with the banned Salazar, but one of the biggest names among the 41 elite pacemakers was 2016 Olympic 1,500-meter champion Matthew Centrowitz, who was part of the Oregon Project from 2012 until the end of last year. This was not the first time Kipchoge had attempted to break the two-hour mark, and it was Nike that exclusively funded the narrowly unsuccessful run at Monza in 2017.
When asked about Salazar’s ban on Friday, Kipchoge responded: “In a garden, there are flowers, and there are weeds. In Vienna, we are talking about the flowers.” His coach, Patrick Sang, said it would be a “tragedy” to link Kipchoge to the disgraced project, and his choice of words was correct. But the connection is also inevitable when the funding flows from the same source.
None of this takes away from the magnitude of the achievement or from Kipchoge’s individual brilliance, but it does raise questions for those who love sport. In a world where dictatorial regimes and companies that have made huge amounts of money from morally objectionable activities are becoming increasingly involved with soccer clubs, cycling teams and elite athletes, we must think about how to handle this intrusion. Sporting brilliance remains thrilling, but which principles are we willing to forgo to see it attained?
I write on a variety of subjects but specialize in English, European and South American soccer. For Forbes, I mostly write about two teams from my home city, Tottenham
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24730 views|Oct 9, 2019,2:30 pm
AlamoPROMISE Serves As An Investment In The Greater San Antonio Community
AlamoPROMISE Serves As An Investment In The Greater San Antonio Community
Dr. Mike FloresBrand Contributor
Dr. Mike Flores, chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District, is a guest contributor for the College Promise Campaign
In the heart of the prosperous state of Texas lies San Antonio, a city rich in history, culture, and resources. Unfortunately, for one in five people, the riches end there. The 2018 American Community Survey shows that San Antonio has the highest percentage of people living in poverty among the nation’s largest cities.
As the chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District, I see evidence of this dire situation daily. A recent study of our students shows that 47 percent worry about paying their monthly expenses.
ALAMO COLLEGES DISTRICT
This isn’t a new problem. It’s a burden passed down from generation to generation. But, we know there is a solution to eliminating generational poverty, and we have seen the evidence. It’s been proven by people such as Janice and Nathaniel Castillo. Janice is a graduate of Alamo Colleges District - Northwest Vista College (NVC). She dropped out of school when she became pregnant with her son, Nathaniel. However, she soon realized education was the only way to overcome the cycle of poverty. She signed up for classes, often bringing her son along. She beat the odds, graduated, and is now pursuing a master’s degree. Nathaniel was the valedictorian of his high school, graduated from NVC, and is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Nathaniel credits his mother for breaking the cycle of generational poverty and changing the trajectory for future Castillos.
The Castillo’s success can be duplicated. Education is the key to economic and social mobility. It’s the reason the Alamo Colleges District has committed to partnering to end poverty through education in San Antonio. One of our first steps was the launch of AlamoPROMISE.
The Alamo Colleges District partnered with the City of San Antonio, Bexar County, local businesses, and community organizations to provide tuition-free access to any of the district’s five colleges through last-dollar funding. The program, which launched this month, is open to more than 9,000 students at 25 high schools and will eventually be open to all 18,000 graduating seniors from public schools in Bexar County. In a community where less than 45 percent of graduating seniors go on to college, this program will be a game changer.
AlamoPROMISE isn’t one of a kind. There are over 200 similar programs in the College Promise Campaign making a difference across the United States. We are learning from those programs that the cost of college is more than just tuition. Students face barriers such as access to food, transportation, medical care, and support services that can mean the difference between gaining a credential or dropping out of school to provide for themselves and their families.
AlamoPROMISE enhances the network of services at our colleges to ensure students succeed. Advocacy centers on each college provide food pantries, clothing closets, and access to mental health services, transportation, academic and career advising, and financial literacy resources, provided in tandem with our partners across the region.
Local businesses and foundations are joining with us to investment in students and a more prosperous San Antonio. AlamoPROMISE is an economic development strategy that provides a more skilled workforce talent such as Kathy Mora, a recent graduate of Alamo Colleges District - St. Philip’s College. Generous scholarships gave her the opportunity to be the first in her family to attend college. She graduated and left her retail job to work as a respiratory therapist in San Antonio, where there is only one qualified applicant for every two healthcare jobs. Kathy never imagined a day when she would be financially stable, able to help her family, and purchase a car. Thanks to scholarships, that day arrived, and AlamoPROMISE will make that day possible for thousands more.
AlamoPROMISE is an investment in the prosperity of a city, its families, and each individual student—one that will return real value. The average associate degree graduate from the Alamo Colleges District will see an increase in earnings of $9,400 each year compared to someone with a high school diploma working in Texas. Over a working lifetime, that adds up to more than $400,000 in higher earnings. Our investment in students is a plan that works. It’s made a difference for Janice, Nathaniel, and Kathy, and with AlamoPROMISE, it will make a difference for the San Antonio region.
Learn more about the College Promise movement by visiting collegepromise.org.
Dr. Mike Flores is chancellor for the Alamo Colleges District. Dr. Flores is striving to end poverty in the San Antonio area through education. His vision is based on the…Read More
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