Sabastian Sawe smashes two‑hour barrier
- Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the 2026 London Marathon in 1:59:30 on Sunday, becoming the first man to break two hours in a record-eligible marathon and defending the title he won in 2025. - Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa also repeated as champion, running 2:15:41 for a women’s-only world record, while Marcel Hug took an eighth London wheelchair title and Catherine Debrunner won in 1:38:29. - London staged the race with more than 59,000 entrants after 1.13 million ballot applications, extending a boom that already made the 2025 event the biggest marathon ever. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk)
Sabastian Sawe ran the 2026 London Marathon in 1:59:30 on Sunday, the first sub-two-hour time ever recorded in a record-eligible marathon. (nbcsports.com) (olympics.com) The Kenyan defended the London title he won in 2025 and lowered the men’s world record while beating Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who finished in 1:59:41, and Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who ran 2:00:28. (nbcsports.com) (olympics.com) Sawe arrived in London unbeaten in three previous marathons: Valencia in 2023, London in 2025 and Berlin in 2025. Before the race, he said the field was strong enough that the winner might need to beat Kelvin Kiptum’s 2:01:25 course record from 2023. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) The women’s race also produced a record. Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia won in 2:15:41, improving her own women’s-only world record and finishing ahead of Hellen Obiri in 2:15:53 and Joyciline Jepkosgei in 2:15:55. (nbcsports.com) (olympics.com) London’s wheelchair races added more history. Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men’s race in 1:24:13 for his eighth London title, matching the event record held by David Weir, and Catherine Debrunner won the women’s race in 1:38:29, five seconds ahead of Tatyana McFadden. (olympics.com) (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) The race unfolded in a marathon that had already set participation records before the gun. London Marathon Events said more than 59,000 people were expected on the start line after a world-record 1.13 million ballot applications. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) That demand followed another milestone last year, when 56,640 runners and walkers finished the 2025 race, making London the largest marathon ever by finishers. Organizers said the 2026 event was also set to be the most inclusive in race history, with more than 1,900 participants with a disability in the mass field. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) (olympics.com) By the finish on The Mall, London had delivered record times in both elite races and another crowd big enough to frame them as part of a much larger running boom. (olympics.com) (londonmarathonevents.co.uk)
