Sawe breaks two-hour mark for first time in marathon history

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe runs to the finish line to win the men's race in a new world record time in central London on April 26, 2026. [Justin Tallis, AFP]

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe broke the two-hour mark for the first time in history on Sunday in winning the London Marathon.

The defending champion was locked in a tight battle with Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha in the closing stages but surged clear to cross the line in 1hr 59min 30sec.

Kejelcha also dipped under two hours, with a time of 1:59:41, with Uganda's Jacob Kiplomo third (2:00:28).

All three finished under the previous men's world record of 2:00:35 set in Chicago in 2023 by the late Kelvin Kiptum.

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in October 2019, becoming the first person in recorded history to do a sub-two-hour marathon.

But the time was not ratified as a world record because he ran with specialised shoes, standard competition rules for pacing and fluids were not followed, and it was not an open event.

Sawe, wearing Adidas's new Pro Evo 3 supershoe, which weighs less than 100 grams, suggested before Sunday's race that a course record or even a world record was in his sights.

He led a group of six as they passed the halfway point in a time of 1:00:29.

Sawe and Kejelcha pulled clear of the rest of the pack and stayed together until the final stages before the Kenyan kicked for home.