London Marathon

Historic! Sawe runs under 2 hours in London

Sebastian Sawe has made history.(Bild: AP/Ian Walton)

Kenyan Sabastian Sawe became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours in an official competition in London. The 29-year-old won Sunday’s prestigious race in 1:59:30, beating the previous world record set by his compatriot Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023 by 1:05 minutes. On October 12, 2019, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge crossed the finish line in Vienna’s Prater under controlled conditions in 1:59:40.

Kiptum died in a traffic accident in his home country just a few months after his record-breaking run in February 2024. Sawe has now broken into a new dimension and made sports history with his time.

Decision after 30 kilometers
Under optimal conditions, the pace was extremely fast from the start, thanks in part to several pacemakers. A large leading group ran together for a long time before last year’s winner Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia broke away after about 30 kilometers. Kejelcha made his marathon debut in the British capital.

“A day to remember”
He also finished under the two-hour mark in 1:59:41. And even third-place finisher Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda (2:00:28) was faster than the previous world record. “I feel good, I’m happy. This is a day to remember for me,” Sawe said in a BBC interview, holding up his running shoe with the record time written on it. “As I approached the finish line, I felt strong.” He said he benefited from the fact that this was already his second London Marathon. However, he had only resumed training in January after an injury.

Tigst Assefa(Bild: AFP/JUSTIN TALLIS)

Assefa wins the women’srace
 In the women’srace, Tigst Assefa of Ethiopiawonin 2:15:41. She finished just 16 seconds behind the 23-year-old course record set by British running icon Paula Radcliffe. However, she improved upon last year’s record for an all-women’s race in London. The 29-year-old sprinted in the final meters, pulling away from Joyciline Jepkosgei and Hellen Obiri of Kenya, with whom she had run together throughout the entire race. She was nine seconds faster than the previous record.

The women’s record in a mixed race stands at 2:09:56. This time, which is considered the actual world record, was set by Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya on October 13, 2024, at the Chicago Marathon.