Sabastian Sawe crossed the finish line on The Mall in 1:59:30, becoming the first athlete to break two hours in a record-eligible marathon. The 30-year-old Kenyan defended his London Marathon title and erased Kelvin Kiptum’s 2:00:35 world record by 65 seconds.
A six-man charge into history
The lead pack tore through the early miles at controlled ambition, hitting 5 kilometres in 14:14 and halfway in 1:00:29. Sawe shared the pace with Yomif Kejelcha, Jacob Kiplimo, Tamirat Tola, Amos Kipruto and Deresa Geleta, the sextet remaining locked together for 30 kilometres.
Between 30 and 35 kilometres the race broke open. A 13:54 5-kilometre split saw Sawe and Kejelcha edge clear, dropping Kiplimo 21 seconds behind. The two then accelerated again, covering the next segment in 13:42 as the prospect of a sub-two-hour finish hardened into certainty.
One mile to settle the record
Sawe made the decisive move with a mile to run, breaking clear of Kejelcha and pressing on alone. He covered the second half of the marathon in 59:01, faster than most elite half-marathon winning times.
Kejelcha followed across the line in an Ethiopian record of 1:59:41 — the fastest marathon debut ever run. Kiplimo took third in 2:00:28, a Ugandan record that also dipped inside Kiptum’s former world mark.
A moment built over four marathons
“I feel good, I’m so happy. It is a day to remember for me,” Sawe told reporters afterwards. The performance drew a line under years of speculation that followed Eliud Kipchoge’s exhibition runs, delivering the first official sub-two-hour marathon.
Sawe’s rise has been swift. He debuted in Valencia in 2024 with 2:02:05, won London in 2025, and conquered Berlin in hot conditions last autumn. His return to Nairobi brought a water-cannon salute, a presidential audience, and a reward of eight million shillings and a car.
The barrier is gone. It fell on a cool London morning to a man who had spent only eighteen months in the distance.
