Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe breaks two-hour barrier at London Marathon

Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe has become the first person in history to officially complete a marathon in under two hours, setting a new world record at the London Marathon on Sunday. The 26-mile race was concluded in 1hr 59min 30sec, a performance that surpasses the previous official record of 2:00:35, which was established by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023.

This achievement marks a significant shift in the governance of long-distance running, distinguishing Sawe's result from Eliud Kipchoge's 1:59:40 run in October 2019. While Kipchoge was the first to physically cross the sub-two-hour threshold, that time was not ratified as an official world record because the event was not open to the public and did not adhere to standard competition rules regarding specialised shoes, pacing, and fluids.

Sawe secured victory in a tightly contested finish against Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha, who also dipped under the two-hour mark with a time of 1:59:41. The defending champion surged clear in the closing stages to claim gold, while Uganda's Jacob Kiplomo took third place with a time of 2:00:28. All three podium finishers completed the course faster than the prior world record held by Kiptum.

The race dynamics were defined early as Sawe and Kejelcha led a group of six past the halfway point in 1:00:29 before pulling clear of the rest of the pack. The Kenyan runner wore Adidas's new Pro Evo 3 supershoe, which weighs less than 100 grams, during the event. Sawe had indicated prior to the start that a course record or even a world record was within his sights, a prediction that proved accurate as he crossed the line ahead of his Ethiopian rival.

The London Marathon also saw records set in other categories, with Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa winning the women's race in 2:15:41 to defend her title. Although Assefa's time was the fastest in a women's-only marathon, it was 16 seconds slower than Paula Radcliffe's 2003 course record, which was set during a mixed race. In the wheelchair races, Swiss athlete Marcel Hug won his sixth straight men's title, while Catherine Debrunner defeated Tatyana McFadden to defend her crown.

The results from the London event, issued on 26 April 2026, confirm a new era in athletic performance where the two-hour barrier is now an official statistic rather than a non-ratified anomaly. The performance underscores the evolution of competition standards and equipment, with the specific conditions of the race now fully compliant with international governing bodies.