Kenyan distance star Sabastian Sawe has become the first athlete in history to run an official marathon in under two hours, winning the London Marathon in a stunning time of 1:59:30.
Sawe, the defending champion, broke clear of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha in the closing stages after the pair had battled shoulder to shoulder deep into the race. Kejelcha, competing in his debut marathon, also dipped under the magical barrier with 1:59:41, while Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo finished third in 2:00:28. All three men ran faster than the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023.
“We started the race well and at the end of the race I was feeling strong,” Sawe said after the finish. “Finally reaching the line, I saw the time and I was so excited to see I had run a world record today. Coming to London for the second time was so important to me, that’s why I prepared well for it.”
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge famously clocked 1:59:40 in Vienna in 2019 as the first man ever to break two hours for the 42.2km distance, but that run was not ratified as a world record because it took place in controlled conditions with rotating pacemakers and did not meet standard competition rules. Sawe’s mark in London is the first sub two hour marathon recognised under official race conditions.
The Kenyan wore Adidas’ new Pro Evo 3 “supershoe”, which weighs under 100 grams and has been at the centre of debate about how advanced footwear is redefining distance running. He led a pack of six through halfway in 1:00:29 before the front group gradually whittled down to just him and Kejelcha.
Women’s race
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa produced another record breaking performance, winning in 2:15:41 to improve her own women’s only world record set on the same London course last year by nine seconds.
Assefa broke away late from Kenyan duo Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei after a three way tussle in the final kilometres. Obiri, a two time world 5,000m champion and 2024 Olympic marathon bronze medallist, took second in a personal best of 2:15:53, finishing just two hundredths of a second ahead of Jepkosgei.
“It was one of my plans coming into this competition to break my own world record from last year’s race,” Assefa said. “To do that has brought me a lot of satisfaction. To repeat my victory from last year means even more.”
The mixed race women’s world record — set in events where female athletes benefit from male pacemakers — remains the 2:09:56 run by Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich at the Chicago Marathon in 2024.
London Marathon numbers
Organisers expected more than 59,000 runners to complete the 26.2 mile (42.2km) course in this 46th edition of the London Marathon, building on last year’s record 56,640 finishers. Officials say they are exploring plans to stage the race over two days next year, potentially allowing up to 100,000 participants.
The 2025 London Marathon raised a record £87.3 million (about 118 million dollars) for charity, setting a new benchmark for the largest amount ever generated by a single annual one day fundraising event.
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