The London Marathon witnessed a historic breakthrough as Sabastian Sawe delivered an extraordinary performance that redefined marathon running.
The 30-year-old Kenyan claimed victory with a time of 1:59:30, becoming the first athlete to complete a marathon in under two hours during an official competitive race. His time beats the previous record set by Kelvin Kiptum in 2023 (2:00:35) by more than a minute.
Before this, only Eliud Kipchoge had broken the two-hour barrier in 2019, but that performance was achieved under controlled conditions and was not officially recognized. Sawe’s run is therefore the first sub-two-hour marathon in a standard race setting.
Sawe was already on record pace at the halfway mark, passing in 1:00:29. He maintained strong momentum in the second half and made a decisive move in the final 10 kilometers to secure his lead.
Yomif Kejelcha was the only runner able to respond to his surge. In his marathon debut, Kejelcha finished second in 1:59:41, also breaking the two-hour barrier under race conditions.
Jacob Kiplimo, the half marathon world record holder, finished third with a time of 2:00:28, also faster than the previous world record.
Speaking after the race, Sawe expressed his excitement, describing the achievement as a memorable moment and highlighting how strong he felt throughout the final stages of the competition.
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