Sir Jim Ratcliffe: What Man United Minority Owner Spent on Eliud Kipchoge’s INEOS 1:59 Challenge

• British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe bankrolled Eliud Kipchoge's INEOS 1:59 challenge
• The Kenyan became the only person to run a marathon in under two hours
• Ratcliffe recently agreed to buy a 25% stake in Manchester United

One of Britain's richest men, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, recently agreed to buy a 25% stake in Manchester United for about $1.3 billion.

Ratcliffe also owns French Ligue 1 side Nice, a fraction of Formula 1 team Mercedes, Swiss club Lausanne and other sporting entities.

In 2019, he sponsored Eliud Kipchoge's historic challenge to break the marathon two-hour barrier.

Before shattering the two-hour marathon barrier, Kipchoge attempted the challenge in 2017 with Nike in a challenge they called Breaking2.

Before the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, Kipochoge was the best marathoner of all time and marathon record holder. On October 12th October 2019, in Vienna, Austria, the Kenyan icon smashed the two-hour barrier, clocking 1:59:40.2.

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It was a historic moment in sports and remains one of the greatest achievements in athletics.

The challenge cemented Kipchoge's status as the greatest marathon runner in history.

What Ratcliffe spent on INEOS challenge

The project was orchestrated by Sir Dave Brailsford, who is Ineos director os sport. He is expected to oversee the football operation at Old Trafford.

According to Forbes, Ratcliffe reportedly spent $19 million on the project, and Kipchoge probably pocketed much of that amount.

The Kenyan could be the richest sportsperson in the country, but the record is not recognized by World Athletics because it was unofficial.

The 39-year-old has five of the fastest top 10 times in marathon history, per World Athletics.

Kiptum shatters Kipchoge's record

Sports Brief also reported on Kelvin Kiptum obliterating Kipchoge's men's marathon world record at the 2023 Chicago Marathon.

He clocked 2:00:35 to take 34 seconds off the record and became the first person to run a marathon under 2 hours one minute.

Kipchoge and Kiptum may go head-to-head in Paris next year for the big title after both were called up for their country.