Sawe eyes London Marathon title defence
Athletics
By
World Athletics
| Feb 01, 2026
Sabastian Sawe will defend his title at the TCS London Marathon on April 26 when he will headline a star-studded field that also features Jacob Kiplimo, Joshua Cheptegei, Tamirat Tola, and Yomif Kejelcha.
Given the strength of the line-up announced on Thursday, Kenya’s Sawe predicts that a course record may be required for him to win the World Athletics Platinum Label road race for a second year in a row.
Sawe won last year’s race in a dominant 2:02:27, the second-fastest ever London Marathon time and a performance just 22 seconds off the PB of 2:02:05 he set in Valencia in 2024.
Kiplimo was runner-up to Sawe in London on his marathon debut, setting a Ugandan record of 2:03:37, and he improved that record to 2:02:23 when winning in Chicago in October. He more recently claimed his third consecutive world cross-country title in Tallahassee.
His compatriot Cheptegei, the world 5000m and 10,000m record-holder, will be back in marathon action following his 2:04:52 PB from Amsterdam in October.
Ethiopia’s Olympic marathon champion Tola has also been announced, fresh from his win in Doha two weeks ago. His compatriots Kejelcha, the two-time world 10,000m silver medallist, and Hagos Gebrhiwet, the Olympic and world 5000m medallist, will make their marathon debuts.
Kenya’s 2022 London Marathon champion Amos Kipruto and two-time New York City Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor, plus Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta, the ninth-fastest man in history over the marathon (2:02:38), are other stellar names in this year’s line-up.
Germany’s world marathon silver medallist Amanal Petros will lead the European charge alongside Great Britain’s Emile Cairess.
It is the calibre of this field that has led Sawe to predict that whoever wins the race will likely have to break the course record of 2:01:25 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.
“The TCS London Marathon course is one of the most beautiful and fastest courses in the world,” said Sawe.
“It was my first time running in London last year, and it was one of the proudest moments of my life to cross the line as champion. I am excited to be coming back in 2026, and I know now a little bit more about what I can expect. I am sure with the quality of athletes coming to London, it will take another fast time to win again, perhaps the type of effort the great Kelvin Kiptum put in when he set the course record in 2023.”
After his win in London last year, Sawe clinched victory in Berlin, meaning he has not lost over the distance so far (Valencia 2024, London 2025, and Berlin 2025).
Hugh Brasher, London Marathon Events CEO, said: “Sebastian Sawe showed the world at last year’s TCS London Marathon that he is a man who could rewrite the marathon record books, so we are delighted to welcome him back for this year’s event. To run 2:02:27 with a negative split of 60:57 for the second half of the race showed the huge potential he has, and we are looking forward to supporting Sebastian run as fast as possible in London on Sunday, 26 April.
“We are delighted to have such incredible storylines and depth across all our elite races in the 2026 TCS London Marathon.”