Years ago, at a primary school in the small Kenyan town of Chewukta, a shy boy named Sebastian Sawe would hide in the school kitchen during break to avoid the races his classmates organized. “He was very timid, but incredibly fast. He knew winning would draw attention, so he hid,” recalls the teacher who convinced Sawe to run. “I told him that running wasn’t just his talent—it was his future.” On April 26, that once-uncertain boy became the first person to complete a marathon in under two hours, shattering a long-standing barrier in athletics.
Could a human run 100 meters in under nine seconds? Could the long jump reach nine meters? Could a swimmer cover 100 meters in 46 seconds? Could a basketball player score over 100 points in a single game? Today, anything seems possible. In every corner of the world, there may be a child hiding in a school kitchen, needing only the courage to step out and break free. But achieving such breakthroughs in competitive sports requires more than just courage.
According to Pedro Valenzuela, a researcher at the University of Alcalá in Spain, one of the most significant shifts—and potentially decisive for the future—is the rapid identification and specialized training of talent across most countries. “Even in places like Kenya, where tradition runs deep, talent used to emerge naturally, with only two or three standout individuals per generation. Now, children as young as 10 or 11 have professional training programs. This dramatically increases the pool of potential record-breakers and multiplies the depth of talent,” he explains.
The number of gifted athletes is growing, and they come from diverse backgrounds with better training conditions. In Sawe’s record-breaking run, the innovative shoes he wore undoubtedly played a role: the carbon-fiber plate in the sole provided spring, and the pair weighed only 97 grams, giving him an advantage over marathon runners from 20 years ago. Yet perhaps the most decisive factor lies elsewhere. Aitor, who oversees nutrition for the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team, points out: “The shoes are effective, and there’s plenty of marketing hype, but advances in nutrition are a far more powerful driver.” Sawe was able to consume 115 grams of carbohydrates per hour during the race, and more importantly, he had access to the latest nutritional supplements during the four to five months of training in Kenya. This provided a critical boost to his performance.
While equipment innovation may be more concentrated in the marathon, athletes worldwide can now eat better than their predecessors both on and off the field. This trend will continue, as research is being conducted by both brands and public institutions.
But are there truly no limits to the human body? Despite many breakthroughs, some still believe we have reached our physical ceiling. Ramón Cid, former coach of the Spanish national athletics team, notes: “Training loads have improved, and fatigue management is more effective, but in other respects, we haven’t changed much. Humans are getting closer to their limits, but we will never fully reach them. Maybe someone will run faster than Usain Bolt, and the 100-meter world record might drop to 9.50 or even 9.40 seconds, but I can’t imagine anyone finishing in eight seconds. Limits exist—we just don’t know where they are.”
