Sabastian Sawe breaks two-hour marathon
- 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 marathon and cutting 65 seconds off the world record. - World Athletics said Sawe’s 1:59:30 came on a record-eligible course, with Yomif Kejelcha second in 1:59:56, making London the first race with two official sub-two-hour marathon finishes. - Adidas had unveiled the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 three days earlier as its lightest racing shoe, a sub-100-gram model Sawe wore in London. (adidas.com)
Sabastian Sawe ran the London Marathon in 1:59:30 on Sunday, the first official sub-two-hour marathon in the sport’s history. (worldathletics.org) (apnews.com) World Athletics said the Kenyan won the Platinum Label race by 26 seconds over Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who also dipped under two hours at 1:59:56. The previous men’s world record was 2:00:35 by Kelvin Kiptum at Chicago in October 2023. (worldathletics.org) (apnews.com) A marathon is 26.2 miles, and official world records count only on courses that meet rules on elevation drop and start-to-finish separation. London qualifies for records; Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59:40 in Vienna in 2019 did not, because it used rotating pacers and other controlled conditions. (worldathletics.org) (apnews.com) Sawe reached halfway in 1:00:15 and then ran a 59:15 second half, according to World Athletics. AP reported he pulled away from the lead pack after 30 kilometers and kept extending the gap to the finish on The Mall. (worldathletics.org) (apnews.com) The shoe on his feet was part of the race-day conversation before the gun even went off. Adidas unveiled the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 on April 23 and said it weighed an average 97 grams, 30% less than the Evo 2, with 11% greater forefoot energy return and a 1.6% improvement in running economy versus its predecessor. (adidas.com) Adidas said limited pairs went on sale April 25 through its site and specialty retailers, with the shoe priced at $500 in launch coverage. The company described the Evo 3 as its lightest and fastest racing shoe to date. (adidas.com) (forbes.com) Sawe is 29 and had already won the Valencia Marathon in December 2024 in 2:02:05 on his debut over the distance. He also won the 2025 London Marathon in 2:02:27 before returning this year for the record run. (worldathletics.org) (apnews.com) London also produced a women’s-only world record on Sunday, with Tigst Assefa winning in 2:15:41. AP reported that marked the first time the men’s and women’s marathon world records fell in the same race. (worldathletics.org) (apnews.com) Sawe told World Athletics, “I’m very happy because this is something special in my life and in the world.” London’s official clock stopped at 1:59:30, and the barrier the sport had chased for decades was gone. (worldathletics.org)
