Marathon man: Contextualizing Kipchoge’s new world record

9/27/22 8:00PM

The marathon man‍

‍Eliud Kipchoge shattered his own world record on Sunday by some 30 seconds, racing to victory at the Berlin Marathon in a staggering 2 hours, 1 minute, and 9 seconds.

The Kenyan, seen by many as the sport’s greatest ever, ran the first half of the race in 59.51 and left the competition, as he so often does, in the dust. Indeed, Kipchoge’s nearest competitor was compatriot Mark Korir... who finished nearly 5 minutes later.

‍The GOAT is clear

‍It's hard to visualize just how incredible Kipchoge's effort really was, but the histogram above, plotting the number of finishers per minute for anyone finishing in under 6 hours, gives you some idea of Kipchoge's speed. Even amongst fellow pros at the Berlin marathon, Kipchoge is in a class of his own over the 26.2 mile distance.

Next time you’re on a treadmill and need a good fitness humbling, crank the speed up to around 21km/h and see how long you can last at Kipchoge’s marathon pace. That's if your treadmill will let you go that fast — some cap out around 20km/h.

‍P.S. Our favorite thing about this viz is the spike in finishers around the hour-marks. Sprinting for the finish line to get that PB!

Max Knoblauch18h

Paramount reportedly receives $24 billion from Gulf funds to back its Warner Bros. takeover

Three Middle East sovereign wealth funds have agreed to back Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery to the tune of roughly $24 billion, according to Wall Street Journal reporting.

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which last year led the $55 billion deal to take Electronic Arts private, will provide about $10 billion in the deal. The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. is also involved.

According to the WSJ, the funds will not receive voting rights in the combined Paramount-Warner company. Those working on the deal don’t expect the Gulf funds’ involvement to spark any additional regulatory reviews.

Exclusive | Gulf Funds Agree to Back Paramount’s $81 Billion Takeover of Warner

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

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The entrance of Allbirds seen from Hayes St. in San Francisco, Calif.

Allbirds, the once buzzy multibillion-dollar sneaker startup, is selling up for $39 million

That’s less than 1% of its peak market cap about four years ago.

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JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.