Sabastian Sawe breaks two-hour barrier
- Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon on April 26 in 1:59:30, becoming the first athlete to break two hours in a record-eligible marathon. - Sawe cut 65 seconds off Kelvin Kiptum’s 2:00:35 world record; Yomif Kejelcha followed in 1:59:41, and Jacob Kiplimo took third in 2:00:28. - The mark moved past Eliud Kipchoge’s paced 2019 exhibition and reset the official limit for men’s marathon racing. (worldathletics.org)
Sabastian Sawe ran the London Marathon in 1:59:30 on Sunday, becoming the first man to break two hours in an official marathon. (worldathletics.org) The Kenyan defended his London title and took 65 seconds off Kelvin Kiptum’s world record of 2:00:35, set in Chicago in 2023. (worldathletics.org) (olympics.com) Sawe was not alone under the barrier for long: Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha finished second in 1:59:41, and Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo was third in 2:00:28. All three beat the previous official world record. (worldathletics.org) (espn.com) A marathon record counts only if the race follows standard competition rules on course layout, pacing and timing. That is why Sawe’s run is treated differently from Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59:40 in Vienna in 2019, which used rotating pacers and was not record-eligible. (worldathletics.org) (olympics.com) London’s race built toward that mark gradually. The lead group hit 5 kilometers in 14:14, halfway in 1:00:29, then Sawe and Kejelcha pulled clear after 30 kilometers before Sawe broke away with a mile left. (worldathletics.org) Sawe’s second half was 59:01, faster than many elite standalone half marathons run late in races. He said after the finish, “It is a day to remember for me.” (worldathletics.org) The result also changed the shape of the event behind him. Kejelcha’s 1:59:41 was the fastest marathon debut ever, and Kiplimo’s 2:00:28 set a Ugandan record. (worldathletics.org) Sawe won London in 2:02:27 in 2025, and the pre-race talk had centered on attacking the course record of 2:01:25. Instead, the race went beyond the course mark and beyond the official two-hour barrier. (worldathletics.org) (olympics.com) World Athletics said the record is subject to ratification, the usual final step for world marks. If confirmed, London 2026 will stand as the race where the legal sub-two marathon finally happened. (worldathletics.org)
