Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe made history at the London Marathon on April 26, 2026, becoming the first athlete to run a sub two-hour marathon in a competitive race. The 30-year-old completed the iconic 26.2-mile course in one hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds, shaving more than a minute off the previous world record.
Historic Achievement
Runner-up Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia also broke the sub two-hour mark, finishing in 1:59:41, but had to settle for second place against Sawe’s brilliant performance. Sawe held a world-record pace at the halfway mark and remarkably accelerated over the second half to beat Kelvin Kiptum’s previous record of 2:00:35, set in 2023.
Kenyan legend Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in under two hours in 2019, but his effort was not record-eligible as it was achieved using a team of rotating pacemakers.
Sawe’s Reaction
“First of all I want to thank the crowds,” Sawe said after his record-breaking run. “They helped a lot. You feel so happy and strong and pushing. What comes for me today is not for me alone but all of us in London. I saw the time and was so excited.”
Asked whether he believed he was capable of running a sub two-hour marathon, Sawe added: “Yes. We started the race well. Approaching finishing the race, I was feeling strong. I remember my fellow champion lead was so competitive. I think he was the one who helped a lot. Finally reaching the finish line, I saw the time, and I was so excited. I think today shows me a lot the first 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. What I had done for four months came today to be a good result.”
Expert Reactions
BBC commentator Steve Cram described Sawe’s achievement as “unbelievable” and “just incredible.” “This is history in the making,” he said as Sawe crossed the finish line. “Nobody has ever done this. They said it couldn’t be done. A moment we thought we would never see. A historic performance. Just incredible. I have never seen anything like that. That you would say is unbelievable, but we have just seen it. I’m lost for words, genuinely.”
Cram compared Sawe’s feat to Roger Bannister’s first four-minute mile: “There are things that happen in sport where you want to be there to see it. Roger Bannister the first ever four-minute mile. Those who were there on that day still tell that story today. We did say it was a day for records. The world will never be the same again.”
Paula Radcliffe, Britain’s former women’s marathon world record holder, added: “This will reverberate around the world. The goalposts have literally just moved for marathon running and where you benchmark yourself as being world class. I did think that mark could be beaten but not today. It is a lesson to everybody out there. We say don’t go out too fast and they went out smartly and paced it really well. Smart racing brought it to the line.”
Pace Splits
Sawe’s splits per 5km at the London Marathon were remarkably consistent: 5km in 2:51, 10km in 2:53, 15km in 2:55, 20km in 2:51, half marathon in 2:52, 25km in 2:53, 30km in 2:53, 35km in 2:47, 40km in 2:45, and the final 2.2km in 2:40.
Other Race Highlights
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa broke her own world record for a women-only field as she retained her London Marathon title in a time of two hours, 15 minutes, and 41 seconds. Marcel Hug stormed to a record-equalling eighth London Marathon victory in the men’s wheelchair race, while the women’s event was won by fellow Swiss Catherine Debrunner.
