LONDON, United Kingdom: Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe made history by becoming the first athlete to complete a marathon in under two hours in an official competitiverace, winning the London Marathon with a record-breaking performance.
Sawe clocked a time of 1:59:30, surpassing the previous world record held by the late Kelvin Kiptum, who ran 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon.
The achievement marks a major milestone in athletics, with the sub two-hour marathon long considered one of the sport’s greatest barriers.
Historic performance
Sawe maintained a strong pace throughout the race, finishing ahead of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who also broke the two-hour mark with a time of 1:59:41 but settled for second place.
Reflecting on his performance, Sawe said: “We start the race well and approaching the end of finishing the race I was feeling strong.”
“I am so happy,” he added.
The feat follows an earlier milestone by Eliud Kipchoge, who ran a sub two-hour marathon in 2019 under controlled conditions, though it was not recognised as an official record.
Women’s record also falls
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa set a new world record, finishing in 2:15:41 and breaking her previous mark set in London last year.
The race delivered historic results across both categories, reinforcing London’s status as one of the premier events in global athletics.
