Sabastian Sawe runs sub-2 at London
- Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon on Sunday in 1:59:30, becoming the first man to run a sub-two-hour marathon in record-eligible race conditions and setting a new world record. - Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha finished second in 1:59:41 on his marathon debut, and Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo took third in 2:00:28, also faster than Kelvin Kiptum’s previous 2:00:35 record. - London paired historic elite times with 59,000 entrants after 56,640 finishers in 2025, underscoring the race’s scale in the 2026 World Marathon Majors season. (olympics.com)
Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon in 1:59:30 on Sunday, becoming the first man to break two hours in a record-eligible marathon race. (nbcsports.com) (nbcnews.com) Sawe cut 65 seconds off Kelvin Kiptum’s previous world record of 2:00:35, set at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. (nbcsports.com) (nbcnews.com) The race did not just produce one barrier-breaker. Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia ran 1:59:41 in his marathon debut, and Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo finished third in 2:00:28, also under the old world-record mark. (nbcsports.com) (nbcnews.com) (olympics.com) That distinction matters because Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59:40 in Vienna in 2019 came in a specially staged run that did not qualify for world-record purposes. Sawe’s mark came in an official London Marathon race. (nbcsports.com) Sawe arrived in London with the fastest marathons of 2024 and 2025 and had already won London in 2025 in 2:02:27. NBC Sports reported that Sunday was his fourth marathon victory in four starts. (nbcsports.com) The pace was aggressive early, with Sawe and five others reaching halfway in 1:00:29. He then closed the final stretch from 40 kilometers to the finish at an average pace of 4:17 per mile, according to NBC Sports. (nbcsports.com) London’s women’s race also produced a record. Tigst Assefa won in 2:15:41, lowering her own women-only world record after pulling away late from Hellen Obiri, who finished in 2:15:53. (nbcsports.com) (olympics.com) Olympics.com said 59,000 runners were entered after 56,640 runners and walkers finished the 2025 race, which had been the event’s largest field. The London Marathon Events results page lists official 2026 results for entrants across the race. (olympics.com) (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) By Sunday afternoon in London, the men’s race had done what marathon running had chased for years: a sub-two clocking in a race that counts. (nbcnews.com) (nbcsports.com)
