Marathon: Sabastian Sawe smashes the two-hour mark in a legendary race
Original public source text. It may contain French even on an English source page. This is not a reviewed English translation. Recovered images and media appear below when available.
Image unavailable.
All original articlesOn Sunday, April 26, 2026, will remain engraved in the annals of global athletics. On the course of the London Marathon, Kenyan Sabastian Sawe accomplished the unthinkable: becoming the first athlete to cross the finish line of a marathon in an official competition in less than two hours with a staggering time of 1 hour 59.30 minutes", in a race where, get this, the first three times became the best in history. Legendary!
His lap time smashes the former world record of 2:35, held by the late Kelvin Kiptum, set at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. So it’s 65 seconds at once that Sawe clears from the record book, a considerable margin at this level of excellence.
The race was absolutely masterful. Sawe and five other runners passed the first half-marathon in 1h00'29", before the Kenyan stepped up the pace again in the second part to cover the last two kilometers at a speed of 4'17" per mile on average.
The performance is all the more remarkable as it was only Sawe’s fifth career marathon, having raced in London in 2h02'27" the previous year. He celebrated by brandishing an Adidas shoe on which he had recorded his time in the marker.
It’s a day I’ll always remember. What I accomplished today is not for me alone, but for all of us in London," he said after his triumph.
Beyond this sensational performance, the race also produced a historic podium of rare density. The second, Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, also ran under two hours in 1h59'41" during his very first steps on the marathon distance, while the Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo finished third in 2h00'28", also breaking the old world record of Kiptum.
The two-hour wall had long haunted the imagination of athletics, comparable to the mile in less than four minutes. Eliud Kipchoge, also from Kenya, had run the marathon in 1h59'40" in 2019, but this time was not approved as a world record, as the race was organized under controlled conditions with rotating hares and without opponents.
Today, there is no doubt about it anymore. In a real competition, against the best in the world, Sabastian Sawe has crossed the ultimate frontier. "The world will never be the same," exclaimed BBC commentator Steve Cram as he crossed the line.
But who is Sabastian Sawe?
Sabastian Kimaru Sawe is a Kenyan long-distance runner born in 1999, who has been a revelation in the world marathon for the past two years. His trajectory is as fast as it is surprising: he first made a name for himself in 2022, winning the half-marathon in Seville when he was initially only there as a hare.
He then followed up with high-flying performances on the marathon, establishing himself as the most consistent runner in the discipline in 2024 and 2025, notably with a victory at the Berlin Marathon 2025 in 2h02'05".
Discreet, hardworking, evolving in the shadow of his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge, Sawe progressed methodically until April 26, 2026 when, in London, he accomplished what humanity believed was at the gates of the impossible: to complete the 42.195 km of a marathon in official competition in less than two hours, with a time of 1h59'30", breaking by 65 seconds the world record held by the late Kelvin Kiptum. This was only his fifth marathon in career.
The 10 best all time (men)
Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 1h59'30" - London 2026
Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) 1h59'41" - London 2026
Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) 2h00'28" - London 2026
Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) 2:00'35" - Chicago 2023
Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2h01'09" - Berlin 2022
Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2h01'39" - Berlin 2018
Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 2h02'05" - Berlin 2025
Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) 2h02'23" - Chicago 2025
Deresa Geleta (ETH) 2h02'38" - Valencia 2025
Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2h03'05" - Berlin 2021