Kenyan long-distance runner Sabastian Sawe, 31, made history on Sunday when he finished the London Marathon in 1:59.30, only 30 seconds under the two-hour mark, making him the first runner to finish a marathon in less than two hours, a feat never achieved, therefore shattering the world record set by the late Kelvin Kiptum at the Chicago Marathon in 2023, of 2:00.35.
Breaking the two-hour barrier has been an obsession for many years, even if it sometimes entered the realm of marketing more than sports. A 2019 race in Vienna, named the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, was made specifically for the great Eliud Kipchoge, to have him run a marathon distance in less than two hours: he made it in 1:59.40.2 (ten seconds more than Sawe in 2026), but the event was not recognised as a marathon world record by World Athletics because it was not an open competition and Kipchoge was helped by 41 pacemakers. It was also mainly a publicity stunt for Nike's shoes.
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Sunday's race in London had the perfect temperature for the record-breaking times, according to BBC, and 28-year-old Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia also finished the race under two hours, only eleven seconds later, 1:59.41, making the fastest marathon debut in history and the fastest non-winning time. Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda finished third at 2:00.28.
In the women's race, 29-year-old Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia also broke a world record (and her own record), finishing in 2:15.41, nine seconds faster than herself one year ago in London.