Nairobi — Kenyan Sabastian Sawe wrote history as the first man to officially run a marathon under two hours in a legitimate race after winning the London Marathon in a staggering World Record time of 1:59:30 on Sunday.
Sawe, who has never lost a marathon race since his debut in 2024, broke from the rest of the pack at the 35km mark with debutant Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha the only one having the courage to follow him, but could not beat the Kenyan, who went on to cut the tape in a World Record time.
Sawe cut off more than one minute from the Late Kelvin Kiptum’s fastest time of 2:00:35, which he set at the Chicago Marathon in October 2023.
It is the first time in 24 years that the London Marathon Course has witnessed a world marathon record.
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Kejelcha also achieved a milestone after becoming the fastest debutant, after clocking a National Record of 1:59:41, becoming the second fastest man ever.
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who won the 2025 Chicago Marathon, crossed the line third in a National Record of 2:00:28, while another Kenyan, Amos Kipruto, the 2022 London Marathon champion, settled for fourth in a Personal Best time of 2:01:39.
Legendary Eliud Kipchoge became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours in 2019, but that was not record eligible as it was held under controlled conditions.
Already on world-record pace as he crossed the halfway mark in 1:00:29, Sawe, 30, sped up over the second half of the race to run even faster than Kipchoge’s time.
Sawe had targeted the world record in Berlin last September, before that bid was undone by the hot weather.
But, in perfect conditions in London, Sawe, who has won all four marathons he has contested, stormed down The Mall to achieve the historic feat.
The decisive phase came between 30km and 35km. A 13:54 5km split saw Sawe and Kejelcha edge clear, dropping Kiplimo, who remained in third some 21 seconds adrift.
The leading duo then accelerated again, covering the next 5km in 13:42 as the likelihood of a sub-two-hour finish increased with each step.
Defending champion Sawe made his move with one mile remaining, finally breaking clear of Kejelcha and pressing on alone.