Sawe Makes History with First Official Sub-Two-Hour Marathon at London Marathon
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe has made sporting history after becoming the first athlete to complete an official marathon in under two hours, breaking one of long-distance running’s most iconic barriers at the London Marathon.
Sawe stormed to victory in 1:59:30, smashing the previous official world record by 65 seconds and delivering a performance that immediately redefined the limits of marathon running.
“It is not for me alone, but for all of us today in London,” Sawe said after the race, dedicating the achievement to supporters and fans who lined the streets of the British capital.
In an extraordinary race, Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha also finished under the two-hour mark with a time of 1:59:41 in his marathon debut, while Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo crossed in 2:00:28, also beating the previous official world record.
Sawe, 29, defended his London Marathon title in dominant fashion, pulling away in the final kilometres after an intense battle with Kejelcha. He produced a blistering negative split, running the second half in just over 59 minutes before sprinting to the finish on The Mall.
The achievement surpasses the long-standing official benchmark set by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023 and marks a historic shift in marathon running.
While Eliud Kipchoge famously broke the two-hour barrier in 2019, that performance came in a specially designed non-competitive event and was not officially recognised. Sawe’s run, however, took place under standard race conditions, making it a landmark moment in athletics history.
Former marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe described the moment as a turning point, saying the sport’s “goalposts have literally just moved.”
The race also saw records fall in the women’s event, where Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa defended her title in 2:15:41, the fastest women’s-only marathon time ever recorded.
In the wheelchair races, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug claimed a sixth consecutive London title, while compatriot Catherine Debrunner secured victory in the women’s race.
