Belgian athlete Matthieu Bonne smashes 48-hour running world record

Last weekend, Belgian endurance athlete Matthieu Bonne once again made sporting history.

On Friday 30 May, the starting gun was fired for the GOMU World Championship 48h in Pabianice, Poland. This ultrarunning race is renowned as one of the toughest in the world, and West Flemish runner Matthieu Bonne travelled to Poland with a clear goal and thorough preparation. Bonne, who is coached by experienced running trainer Benny Fischer, set his sights on breaking the iconic world record of 473.5 kilometres in 48 hours – a record that had belonged to the legendary Greek Yiannis Kouros since 1996. The Belgian had trained at altitude in Iten, Kenya in preparation for this immense challenge.

And the ultra-athlete from Bredene rose magnificently to the challenge. Not only did he break the 48-hour running world record, it’s fair to say he obliterated the Greek’s previous time. In total, he covered no less than 485.099 kilometres over two days and two nights, a significant improvement on a world record that had stood for nearly thirty years.

(Raul Stiens - Photo: ©Team Matthieu Bonne)