Sawe breaks two-hour marathon barrier in competitive race for first time

Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon in 1:59:30, becoming the first athlete to break the two-hour barrier in a record-eligible race. The time beats Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 by more than a minute. Eliud Kipchoge ran sub-two in 2019, but under controlled, non-competitive conditions that disqualified the mark from official records.

Sawe negative-split the course aggressively, covering the first half in 60:29 and the second in 59:01, with 5km splits dropping to 13:42 in the closing stages. Debutant Yomif Kejelcha also finished under two hours at 1:59:41, and Jacob Kiplimo completed the podium in 2:00:28 — three runners beating the previous world record in a single race. In the women’s field, Tigst Assefa improved her own women-only world record to 2:15:41.

The performance, aided by current-generation carbon-plated supershoes and ideal conditions, resets the benchmark for elite marathon running. Sawe noted he has submitted to frequent drug testing — 25 times before his Berlin attempt last year — to preempt skepticism about the leap in times.