Kenya's Sawe Breaks Two-Hour Marathon Barrier
Monday, 2026/04/27159 words2 minutes357 reads
Kenya's Sabastian Sawe achieved a historic milestone at the London Marathon on Sunday, becoming the first athlete to officially break the two-hour barrier. The defending champion crossed the finish line in 1:59:30, shattering the previous world record by 65 seconds.
Sawe faced intense competition from Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha throughout the race. The two runners stayed together until the final stages, when Sawe made his decisive move with one mile remaining. Kejelcha also finished under two hours at 1:59:41, recording the fastest marathon debut in history. Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo secured third place in 2:00:28, meaning all three runners finished faster than the previous world record.
The women's race was equally impressive. Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa defended her London Marathon title and broke her own women-only world record with a time of 2:15:41. She pulled away from Kenya's Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei in the closing stages. Obiri finished second in a personal best of 2:15:53, just ahead of Jepkosgei at 2:15:55.
