Aleksandr Sorokin Explained

Full Name:Aleksandr Sorokin
Nickname:Sania
Nationality:Lithuanian
Birth Date:30 September 1981
Weight:72kg (159lb) (2021)
100kg (200lb) (2012)
Father:-->
Years Active:2013–present[1]
Sport:Ultramarathon
Event: and,
,
12 and 24 hour runs
Club:Cosma (Vilnius, 2022–)
Coach:Sebastian Białobrzeski
Worlds:Multiple IAU world best ultramarathon performances
Regionals:Multiple EU best ultramarathon performances
Nationals:-->

Aleksandr “Sania” Sorokin (born 30 September 1981)[2] [3] is a Lithuanian long-distance runner who holds multiple world and European records. As of May 2023, he held seven world records on the track and road: 100 km (road), 100 miles (road), 100 miles (track), 6-hour run (track), 12-hour run (track), 12-hour run (road), 24-hour run (road). Sorokin won the IAU 24 Hour World Championship in 2019, IAU European 24 Hour Championships in 2022 and the Spartathlon in 2017.

He holds the world record for the greatest distances in 24 hours [{{convert|319.6|km|1|abbr=off}}], in 12 hours [{{convert|177.4|km|1|abbr=off}}],[4] and achieved the fastest time for 100 miles (10 hours, 51 minutes, 39 seconds), in some cases having broken his own earlier records in subsequent runs.

Career

Aleksandr Sorokin kayaked and canoed for Lithuania teams until a shoulder injury when aged 25, but only began running in 2013, at the age of 31, to lose weight (he was 100 kg). He quickly demonstrated exceptional qualities in ultra distance running and took part in his first 100 kilometres race in 2013.[5]

In 2015, he set the Lithuanian records for 100 km (6:50:34) and 24 hours (242.189 km) at the respective World Championships.

In 2017, Sorokin won the prestigious Spartathlon in Greece, becoming the 35th winner and the third-fastest athlete in this race.[6] [7]

In 2019 at the IAU 24 Hour World Championship held in Albi, France, he had his breakthrough performance, breaking the championship record with a distance of 278.972 kilometres.

On 24 April 2021, he set both the 100-mile and the 12-hour world records during the Centurion Running Track 100 Mile in England (official record ratifiable splits are also taken there at the 50 km, 5 mile, 100 km, 6 hrs and 12 hrs en route). His 100-mile (160.934 kilometers) world record was a time of 11:14:56, and his 12-hour world record was a distance of 105.825 miles/170.309 kilometers. Sorokin kept overall pace for the 12 hours of running at a 6:48 minutes per mile (4:14 per kilometer). Later that year on 29 August, he broke Yiannis Kouros' 24-hour world record of 303.3 km, set in 1997. He covered 309.4 km with an average pace of 4:39 per kilometer in Pabianice, Poland.[8] [9]

At the Spartanion race in Tel Aviv, Israel on 6 January 2022, the 40-year-old bested his own two records in one run and became the first runner to break the 11-hour barrier for 100 miles as he covered the distance (161 km) in 10 hours, 51 minutes and 39 seconds, and then continued on and broke second record – the furthest distance run in 12 hours, at 111.24 miles.[10] [11] On 23 April at the Centurion Running Track 100 Mile, he set a new world record for the 100 kilometres with a time of 6:05:41.[12] On 18 September, Sorokin bettered his own 24-hour record by more than 10 kilometers at the IAU European 24 Hour Championships staged in Verona, Italy. He achieved a distance of 319.614 kilometres which is only 1.5 miles short of 200 miles, and averaged a 4:30/km (7:15/mile) pace over 24 hours (he began with 3:55-3:58/km pace and managed to finish with a 5:05-5:10/km pace).

Personal bests

EventTime
Result
PlaceMeetingDateNotes
100 km (road)6:05:35Vilnius, LithuaniaWorld's Fastest Run14 May 2023WA World record[13] [14]
(track)11:14:56Ashford, United KingdomCenturion Running Track 100 Mile24 April 2021World record[15]
(road)10:51:39Tel Aviv, IsraelSpartanion Race6 January 2022IAU World record[16]
98.496 kmAshford, United KingdomCenturion Running Track 100 Mile24 April 2021IAU World record
12 hour run (track)170.309 kmAshford, United KingdomCenturion Running Track 100 Mile24 April 2021World record
12 hour run (road)177.410 kmTel Aviv, IsraelSpartanion Race7 January 2022IAU World record
24 hour run (road)319.614 kmVerona, ItalyIAU European 24 Hour Championships18 September 2022IAU World record

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Milne . Keeley . 2022-09-18 . Aleksandr Sorokin shatters his own 24-hour record . 2022-09-19 . Canadian Running Magazine.
  2. Web site: Sorokin, Aleksandr & Spartathlon.gr Staff . 2018 . Sorokin Aleksandr. Spartathlon.gr . 14 January 2022.
  3. Web site: DUV Ultra Marathon Statistics profile – Sorokin Aleksandr . 2022-09-19 . statistik.d-u-v.org.
  4. Web site: Dickinson, Marley . 10 January 2022 . How Does Aleksandr Sorokin Train for 100-Mile World Records? . Canadian Running Magazine . 13 January 2022.
  5. Web site: Brady . Sarah . 2022-04-27 . Looking Forward: An Interview With Aleksandr Sorokin About His 100k World Record . 2022-09-23 . iRunFar . en.
  6. Web site: Kokkinidis . Tasos . 2017-09-30 . Lithuanian Sorokin wins 35th Spartathlon Ultra-Marathon (video) . 2022-09-20 . . en-US.
  7. Web site: Sorokin becomes the first Lithuanian to win the Spartathlon . 2022-09-20 . . en.
  8. News: Kardas, Piort . August 2021 . Race Report: ABM Jedraszek UltraPark Weekend . IAU-Ultramarathon.org . 13 January 2022.
  9. Web site: Dickinson, Marley . 2 September 2021 . Meet Aleksandr Sorokin, the Man Behind the New 24-Hour World Record . Canadian Running Magazine . 14 January 2022.
  10. Web site: Agnew, Mark . 11 January 2022 . How Sania Sorokin broke his own 100 mile and 12 hour world records . SCMP.com . 14 January 2022.
  11. Metzler, Brian . January 11, 2022 . How Aleksandr Sorokin Ran 100 Miles at a 6:31-Mile Pace . OutsideOnline.com . 14 January 2022.
  12. Web site: Powell . Bryon . 2022-04-23 . Aleksandr Sorokin Sets 100k World Record in 6:05:41 . 2022-09-23 . iRunFar . en.
  13. Web site: 14 May 2023 . Aleksandr Sorokin improves his own 100km world record . 14 May 2023 . AW.
  14. Web site: 14 May 2023 . Sorokin breaks world 100km record . 14 May 2023 . World Athletics.
  15. News: Aleksandr Sorokin, 100-Mile and 12-Hour World Record Holder, Interview. iRunFar. Meghan Hicks. 26 April 2021. 4 May 2021.
  16. News: Running 100 Miles in Under 11 Hours? Aleksandr Sorokin Breaks the 100-Mile and 12-Hour World Records Again. iRunFar. Alex Potter. 6 January 2022. 18 January 2022.