Sabastian Sawe makes history with first sub-two-hour marathon in London
- Last updated: April 26, 2026 | 18:34
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's-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 Kiplomo 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 half-way point in a time of 1:00:29.
The leading sextet later began to string out 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.
- Assefa outpaces Obiri -
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 Ruth Chepngetich, who clocked 2:09:56 at the Chicago Marathon in October 2024.
More than 59,000 people were expected to complete the 26.2-mile (42.2-km) course in the 46th London Marathon.
Last year's race set a new world record for the number of finishers, with a total of 56,640 entrants completing the distance.
Marathon organisers said last month they are exploring holding the event over two days next year, allowing up to 100,000 runners.
The 2025 race raised a record £87.3 million ($118 million) for charity, setting a new world record for the biggest annual one-day fundraising event.
Agence France-Presse