Sabastian Sawe breaks two‑hour barrier
- Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon on Sunday in 1:59:30, becoming the first man to break two hours in a record-eligible race. - Sawe cut 65 seconds off Kelvin Kiptum’s 2:00:35 world record; Yomif Kejelcha followed in 1:59:41, also under two hours in London. - Tigst Assefa also set a women-only world record at 2:15:41. (worldathletics.org)
Sabastian Sawe ran 1:59:30 to win the London Marathon on Sunday, becoming the first man under two hours in an official marathon. (worldathletics.org) The Kenyan also broke Kelvin Kiptum’s world record of 2:00:35, set in Chicago in October 2023, by 65 seconds. Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha finished second in 1:59:41, making London the first race with two official sub-two-hour marathons. (worldathletics.org) (letsrun.com) Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda was third in 2:00:28, which was also faster than the old world record. World Athletics said Sawe reached halfway in 1:00:29 and ran the second half in 59:01. (worldathletics.org) (letsrun.com) An official marathon record has to be set in a race that meets World Athletics rules on course layout, pacing and competition. Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59:40 in Vienna in 2019 broke two hours first, but it was not eligible for record purposes because it used rotating pacers and other special conditions. (worldathletics.org) (apnews.com) London’s men’s race was paced aggressively from the start, with a large lead pack still intact deep into the second half before Sawe pulled away. LetsRun reported that the field hit 30 kilometers in 1:24:17 and then Sawe closed with the fastest final stretch. (letsrun.com) (worldathletics.org) The women’s race produced another record on the same course. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa defended her title in 2:15:41, lowering her own women-only world record from 2:15:50 set in London in 2025. (worldathletics.org 1) (worldathletics.org 2) Hellen Obiri ran 2:15:53 for second and Joyciline Jepkosgei ran 2:15:55 for third, the first time three women broke 2:16 in the same race. (letsrun.com) (trackandfieldnews.com) Sawe, 30, had already won Valencia in 2024 in 2:02:05 on his marathon debut and arrived in London as one of the sport’s fastest risers. In one morning, he moved the official men’s world record below a line that had stood as marathon running’s clearest barrier. (worldathletics.org 1) (worldathletics.org 2) The result also reset the comparison with Kipchoge’s Vienna exhibition: that run proved two hours was physically possible, and Sawe’s London race put a record-eligible mark on the books. London ended with the clock reading 1:59:30 and no asterisk attached. (worldathletics.org) (apnews.com)
