Sabastian Sawe breaks 2-hour barrier, shatters marathon world record

Sabastian Sawe lived up to his status as a pre-race favorite at the London Marathon, and then some. The 30-year-old Kenyan shattered the world record and became the first man ever to complete the 26.2 miles in under 2 hours.

When Sawe crossed the finish line on the Mall in central London, the clock showed 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds — a full 65 seconds than the time set by previous record holder Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.

“I am feeling good, I am so happy,” Sawe said after rewriting the record books. “It is a day to remember.”

Sawe was not the only runner to break a barrier long considered unreachable. Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, running his first ever marathon, finished only 11 seconds down to Sawe in second place; third place went to Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimi, who came in just outside the two-hour mark at 2:00:28 but would still have bested Kiptum’s former world record.

The conditions were favorable all day. Starting with temperatures in the low 50s and a tailwind over the final few miles, the stage was set for a memorable day.

Sawe and Kejelcha were part of the leading group from the get-go and broke clear from their four companions including Kiplimi past the halfway mark. At that point, the world record let alone the two-hour mark did not appear to be in danger. However, the leading pair picked up the pace.

Sawe, who finished the second half of the race in 59:01, discarded of Kejelcha shortly before reaching the finish line.

“I think I was well-prepared because coming to London for the second time was so important to me,” Sawe told the BBC. “And that’s why I prepared well for it. And finally, what I had done for four months, it has come today to be a good result.”

Sawe’s was not the only record-breaking performance on Sunday, though. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa finished the women’s race in an all-time best 2:15:41, winning a three-up sprint to secure the victory by 12 seconds ahead of Kenyan duo Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei.