Kenya's Sawe shatters elusive two-hour marathon barrier to win in London

He obliterated the world record previously held by the late Kelvin Kiptum, who set a time of 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe celebrates with a shoe after winning the men's elite race and setting a new world record with a time of 01:59:30. REUTERS

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe shattered one of athletics’ most elusive barriers on Sunday, becoming the first man to run a marathon in under two hours as he stormed to victory at the London Marathon in one hour 59 minutes and 30 seconds.

After years of global obsession, lab backed experiments and near misses, the marathon’s ultimate barrier finally fell as Sawe obliterated the world record previously held by the late Kelvin Kiptum, who set a time of 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon in October 2023.

Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia stayed on Sawe's heels over much of the 42.195-kilometre course before fading down the final stretch to take second in his marathon debut with 1:59.41, while Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda took the bronze in 2:00.28, making for the most remarkable men's marathon finish in history.

"I am feeling good, I am happy, it's a day to remember for me," Sawe told the BBC, holding up his shoe with "world record" and "sub-2" written on it in black marker pen.

"We started the race well. Approaching finishing the race, I was feeling strong. Finally reaching the finish line, I saw the time and I was so excited. I think today shows me a lot the first (time) for everyone, and I am so happy for today. Coming to London for the second time was so important to me and that's why I prepared well for it."

Kiptum died in a car crash in 2024 in Kenya when he was just 24 years old.

Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia broke her own women's only world record en route to victory. The 29-year-old pulled away from Kenyans Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei down the home stretch to cross the finish line in 2:15.41 seconds, beating the record of 2:15.50 she set last year in London.

"I'm so happy to win again, I want to thank God for giving me this victory, to repeat my victory from last year means even more. And so the happiness I feel is just welling up inside me," Assefa told the BBC.

Obiri was second in 2:15.53, while Jepkosgei took the bronze in 2:15.55.

Conditions were close to ideal for fast running, with mid teen temperatures in London and winds light to create the platform for the record times.

The sub two hour marathon has been one of sport’s biggest obsession for years, pursued through a series of highly engineered projects aimed at redefining human limits.

Nike’s Breaking2 attempt at Monza in 2017 just fell short though Kenyan great Eliud Kipchoge ran under two hours in INEOS’s 1:59 Challenge two years later. Yet those efforts fell outside the sport’s official record books.

Sawe's historic race on Sunday differed in its setting and its stakes, achieved in open competition on one of the world's biggest stages, turning an idea long tested in controlled conditions into a landmark moment recognised by the sport itself.

The remarkable feat comes despite the fact that he was injured throughout the autumn and started training properly only in January before realising in February that he was going to be fit enough to defend his title in London.

Sawe, who was cheered on by an estimated million supporters lining the course that snaked along the River Thames before the finish line on The Mall against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace, had predicted a world record might be required to beat a fast field.

"Finally, what I had done for four months it has come today to be a good result," he said. "I want to thank the crowds for cheering us. I think they help a lot, because if it was not for them you don't feel like you are so loved.

"I think they help a lot because them calling make you feel so happy and strong and pushing. That is why I can say what comes for me today is not for me alone but all of us in London."

Sawe, who trains at altitude in western Kenya, has said he was inspired by his uncle, former Ugandan Olympian in the 800 metres Abraham Chepkirwod and was encouraged by a teacher who once told him: "Running is not just talent, it is your fortune and your future."

He announced himself by winning with his dazzling marathon debut in Valencia in December 2024 in what was the fifth fastest time ever at that point, and has been perfect in every one of his races over the distance since.

Sawe has spoken out in the past about problems with doping in the sport. He has called for regular testing and, mindful of Kenya's poor doping record, invited the Athletics Integrity Unit to test him as much as possible last year. They did so 25 times in the run-up to the 2025 Berlin Marathon.

“The main reason was to show that I am clean, and I am doing it the right way," he said.

Switzerland's Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner won the men's and women's wheelchair events. Hug won for the sixth consecutive year and eighth overall, while Debrunner outsprinted American Tatyana McFadden to the finish for her third win in a row in London.