{"id":20404,"date":"2026-04-26T13:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T12:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=20404"},"modified":"2026-04-26T13:18:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T12:18:23","slug":"kenyas-sawe-is-worlds-first-man-to-run-a-sub-two-hour-marathon-in-london-athletics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=20404","title":{"rendered":"Kenya\u2019s Sawe is world\u2019s first man to run a sub-two-hour marathon in London | Athletics"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Sabastian Sawe breaks Kelvin Kiptum\u2019s previous world record of 2:00:35; Ethiopia\u2019s Assefa retains her women\u2019s crown.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 26 Apr 2026<\/span>26 Apr 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Kenya\u2019s Sabastian Sawe has become the first man to run a marathon in under two hours, winning the London Marathon in 1:59:30.<\/p>\n

Ethiopia\u2019s Tigst Assefa defended her London Marathon crown on Sunday, breaking her own world record.<\/p>\n

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However, it was Sawe who stole the limelight in a huge moment in sporting history as he broke the two-hour barrier, shattering the world record previously held by his late compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, who set a time of 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon in October 2023.<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old, who has never lost a marathon, smashed the world record by 65 seconds.<\/p>\n

Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia stayed on Sawe\u2019s heels for most of the 42.195km course before fading down the final stretch to take second in his marathon debut with 1:59:41, while Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda won bronze in 2:02:28.<\/p>\n

All three finished under Kiptum\u2019s previous record time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started the race well, and at the end of the race, I was feeling strong,\u201d said Sawe.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally, reaching the finishing line, I saw the time, and I was so excited to see I had run a world record today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very prepared because coming to London for the second time was so important to me, and that\u2019s why I prepared well for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiptum died in a car crash in Kenya in 2024, aged 24 years.<\/p>\n

In the women\u2019s race, Assefa retained her winning place.<\/p>\n

The reigning Olympic and world silver medallist was locked in a three-way tussle with Kenyan pair Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei but pulled away in the closing stages to cross the line in 2:15:41.<\/p>\n

That time beat her previous best, set on the same course last year, by nine seconds.<\/p>\n

Obiri, a two-time former world 5,000m champion who won marathon bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics, came in second in a personal best of 2:15:53.<\/p>\n

She finished just two-hundredths of a second ahead of compatriot Jepkosgei.<\/p>\n

The world record set in a mixed race, where female athletes benefit from male pacemakers, was by Kenya\u2019s Ruth Chepngetich, who clocked 2:09:56 at the Chicago Marathon in October 2024.<\/p>\n

Chepngetich was given a three-year doping ban last October, although achievements and records pre-dating the March 2025 sample stand.<\/p>\n

Switzerland\u2019s Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner won the men\u2019s and women\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"Ethiopia's
Ethiopia\u2019s Tigst Assefa crosses the line to win the women\u2019s race [Justin Tallis\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n


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Sabastian Sawe breaks Kelvin Kiptum\u2019s previous world record of 2:00:35; Ethiopia\u2019s Assefa retains her women\u2019s crown. Published On 26 Apr 202626 Apr 2026 Kenya\u2019s Sabastian Sawe has become the first man to run a marathon in under two hours, winning the London Marathon in 1:59:30. Ethiopia\u2019s Tigst Assefa defended her London Marathon crown on Sunday, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}