Kenya's Sawe Makes History With First Sub-Two-Hour Marathon In London

Sabastian Sawe made history on Sunday by becoming the first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon as Tigst Assefa smashed her own women-only world record on the streets of London.

Kenya’s Sawe came into the race predicting fireworks and delivered in spectacular style, crossing the line in 1hr 59min 30sec in a race for the ages.

Astonishingly, the top three men all finished inside the previous men’s world record of 2:00:35 set in Chicago in 2023 by the late Kelvin Kiptum.

Defending London Marathon champion Sawe was locked in a tight battle with Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha in the closing stages but surged clear.

Kejelcha, running his first-ever marathon, notched a time of 1:59:41 — the fastest debut ever — with Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo third (2:00:28).

A delighted Sawe said he went into the race, run in warm spring weather, believing he could break the two-hour mark.

“I am feeling good. I am so happy. It is a day to remember for me,” said the 31-year-old, whose winning time was scribbled on his shoe.

“We started the race well. Approaching finishing the race, I was feeling strong.

“Finally reaching the finish line, I saw the time, and I was so excited…. Coming to London for the second time was so important to me and that’s why I prepared well for it.

“Finally, what I had done for four months, it has come today to be a good result.”

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in October 2019, becoming the first person in recorded history to complete a sub-two-hour marathon.

But the time was not ratified as a world record because he ran with specialised shoes, standard competition rules for pacing and fluids were not followed, and it was not an open event.

Sawe, wearing Adidas’s new Pro Evo 3 supershoe, which weighs less than 100 grams, suggested in the lead-up to Sunday’s race that a course record or even a world record was in his sights.

He led a group of six, which also included Olympic champion Tamirat Tola and half-marathon world-record holder Kiplimo as they passed the halfway point in a time of 1:00:29.

The leading sextet later began to string out and Sawe and Kejelcha pulled clear, staying in lockstep until the final stages.

Sawe made his move with one mile remaining, finally breaking clear of Kejelcha and pressing on alone, taking 65 seconds of the previous world record.

Kipchoge praised his compatriot, posting on social media that it was a “historical day for marathon running”.

“Seeing two athletes break the magical two-hour barrier at the London Marathon is the proof that we are just at the beginning of what is possible when talent, progress and an unwavering belief in the human potential come together,” he said.

Kenya’s President William Ruto said Sawe had “redrawn the limits of human endurance”.

“This is more than a win,” he tweeted. “It is a defining moment. Your triumph places you firmly among the greats of global athletics and reaffirms Kenya as an enduring force at the pinnacle of distance running.”

In the women’s race, reigning Olympic and world silver medallist Assefa was locked in a three-way tussle with Kenyan pair Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei, but surged away in the closing stages to cross the line in a time of 2:15:41.

That time beat by nine seconds the Ethiopian’s previous best, set on the same course last year.

“I’m so happy to win again,” said Assefa, 29. “To repeat my victory from last year means even more. The happiness I feel is just swelling up inside me.

“It was one of my plans really coming into this competition to break my own world record from last year’s race. So to do that has brought me a lot of satisfaction.”

Obiri, a two-time former world 5,000m champion who won marathon bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics, came in second in a personal best of 2:15:53.

She finished just two-hundredths of a second ahead of compatriot Jepkosgei.

The world record set in a mixed race where female athletes benefit from male pacemakers was by Kenya’s now-banned Ruth Chepngetich, who clocked 2:09:56 at the Chicago Marathon in October 2024.