Marathon World Record holder Eliud Kipchoge should not force himself to break the two-hour barrier, Prof Edward Kisiang'ani has said.

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Running in a 42-kilometre race in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday, Kipchoge will attempt to complete the race in under two hours, something no human has ever achieved.

However, Kisiang'ani has faulted the athlete for participating in the race dubbed INEOS 1:59 Challenge, saying breaking the two-hour barrier 'should come naturally without stress'. 

In a tweet, the Kenyatta University lecturer said Kipchoge was likely to fail due to the pressure from fans and himself which he described as 'unhealthy'

"I don't like the pressure the world has exerted on our Marathon Superstar, Eliud Kipchoge. He is even making things worse for himself. Not healthy for him. Could backfire. He should not try to force a marathon time of 1h 59 minutes. Such time should come naturally without stress," Kisiang'ani said.

In a rejoinder on Thursday, columnist Gabriel Oguda said Kipchoge is a professional athlete who has won many races and knew how to handle the pressure.

"You say he's a marathon superstar, then go ahead and pronounce he'll fail out of the pressure. Listen here, Prof. You cannot be a superstar in any field if you don't know how to handle pressure. Handling pressure is what separates Kipchoge from Kisiang'ani. Kindly mind the gap," Oguda posted.

Kipchoge has won 11 out of 12 marathons and is the current holder of the World Record of 2.01.39 which he set in the Berlin Marathon in 2018.