Sawe becomes the first man to break two hours in a historic London Marathon
The Kenyan athlete has broken a seemingly insurmountable barrier in a race where the women's record has also fallen
BarcelonaAthletics has seen one of the barriers that seemed impossible to overcome fall. For the first time, an athlete has gone under two hours in a marathon under normal race conditions, as previously the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge had done it in 2019 in Vienna in an experiment programmed by the INEOS brand on a closed circuit. Kipchoge had had coaches, support staff, pacemakers, and all sorts of facilities to prove that breaking two hours was feasible. Today, a compatriot of his has proven him right.
The hero has been Sabastian Sawe, 29, who won the London Marathon with a time of 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds. Sawe is a good marathoner and was a favorite, but no one was prepared for a race like this, as it was so surprisingly fast that the second-place finisher also went under two hours. What hadn't happened in decades happened twice in a few seconds. The Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who was also making his Marathon debut as he had previously run shorter distances, clocked a time of 1h59:41, keeping pace with Sawe until the final meters. The Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, third, finished with a time of 2h00:28, also surpassing what was until then the world record, held by Kelvin Kiptum, who had run in 2023 in Chicago in 2h 00:35.
Sabastian Sawe, 31, had previously achieved marathon victories, such as the one in Valencia in 2024. Or the 2025 triumph in London and Berlin, an achievement that allowed him to be chosen male athlete of the year in 2025. But he had never before run under two hours and two minutes, which is why his record has surprised everyone, as he entered the Buckingham Palace area, surrounded by British flags, with a pace that already makes him an immortal name in athletics.
"It's a historic day for me," Sawe explained to the British network BBC after the victory. "The truth is I started the race very well and when we were approaching the end I felt very strong. I think my rivals helped me a lot. When I saw the time I got emotional. Everything I've worked on in recent months has transformed into a great result today."
The women's world record also falls
In the women's race, the world record has also fallen. Tigst Assefa, from Ethiopia, won after breaking her own world record with a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 41 seconds. The Ethiopian athlete already held, with 2:15.50 since April 27, 2025, the best universal mark in a marathon, a success also achieved in London. On this occasion, she surpassed the Kenyans Hellen Obiri (2h15:53) and Joyciline Jepkosgei (2h15:55) at the finish line.
The temperature, around 14 or 15 degrees, greatly aided the athletes on a very fast course that reaches Buckingham Palace, as happened in the London Olympic Games. A marathon with thousands of people cheering and hundreds running, some seeking to improve their mark, others to finish, and many helping in charitable causes, drawing attention like a man who wanted to run the race carrying a 25 km cooler. Another type of heroism, this.