Kenya

Sabastian Sawe Breaks 2-Hour Marathon Barrier in London

Is this a triumph of human limits or a product of super shoe technology?

Published APR 26

Sabastian Sawe Breaks 2-Hour Marathon Barrier in London

Story

Above: Sabastian Sawe celebrates crossing the line on April 26, 2026. Image credit: Alex Davidson/Getty Images

The Facts

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours in a competitive race on Sunday, winning the London Marathon in one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds — breaking the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum.
Reuters
Daily Nation
The Standard
Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha finished second in 1:59:41 on his marathon debut, becoming the second man to run under two hours in race conditions. Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo took third in 2:00:28, meaning all three podium finishers ran faster than Kiptum's former record.
The Athletic
NBC
Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in 2019 but the time was not ratified as a world record because the event was held under controlled conditions, with non-standard rules for pacing and fluids. Sawe's London run is the first sub-two-hour marathon performance recognized by the sport.
CNN
BBC News
The Standard
Sawe wore Adidas's new Pro 3 supershoe, weighing under 100 grams, during the race. He ran the second half of the marathon in 59 minutes and 1 second, covering the 30-to-35-kilometer segment in 13:54 before accelerating further to break away from Kejelcha.
Kenyans.co.ke
Guardian
Ahead of the 2025 Berlin Marathon, Sawe underwent 25 drug tests in a matter of weeks, including isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis. Switzerland's Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner won the men's and women's wheelchair races.
Reuters
Track & Field Gazette on X
The Wall Street Journal
Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa set a new women's-only world record at the London Marathon, finishing in 2:15:41 to defend her title. She crossed the line 12 seconds ahead of Kenya's Hellen Obiri (2:15:53), with compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei third in 2:15:55.
The Athletic
The Star, Kenya

Sources Split

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CRIT

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ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Sabastian Sawe just proved every expert wrong by running a marathon in 1:59:30 under real race conditions — not a lab, not a paced experiment, but an actual competition. Yomif Kejelcha also went sub-2 in the same race, meaning this wasn't a fluke. Limits are just consensus dressed up as fact, and Sawe shattered that consensus in London, redefining human endurance and signaling a new era in distance running.

Kuria Kimani on X

NewsForce on X

Itamar Golan on X

Narrative B

Sawe's 1:59:30 didn't happen in a vacuum — it happened in a 97-gram shoe engineered with next-gen foam and redesigned carbon tech that delivers measurable performance gains. Super shoes with carbon plates and high-return foam demonstrably enhance times, so the record books need an asterisk until athletics governing bodies decide which enhancements are sport and which are equipment.

Ellis Cashmore on X