LONDON — Sabastian Sawe of Kenya has become the first person to break the fabled 2-hour barrier in the marathon.
In a huge moment in sports history, Sawe smashed the men’s world record by 65 seconds, winning the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds on Sunday.
The second-place finisher, Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia, also dipped under 2 hours by crossing the line in 1:59:41 in his first-ever marathon, while Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda finished in 2:00:28, seven seconds faster than the previous world record set by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023.
The 29-year-old Sawe, who retained his title in London, thanked the huge crowds who lined the streets of the British capital.
“What comes today is not for me alone,” Sawe said, “but for all of us today in London.”
Sawe ran the second half of the marathon in 59 minutes and 1 second, pulling clear with Kejelcha after 30 kilometers and then making his solo break in the final two kilometers as he sprinted along the finish on The Mall.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa pulled away with about 500 meters remaining to win in 2:15:41, defending her title in the fastest-ever time in a women’s-only marathon. It was 16 seconds slower than the course record set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003 when it was a mixed race.
In the wheelchair races, Switzerland recorded a double: Marcel Hug powered to a sixth straight men’s title — and eighth in total — and Catherine Debrunner beat Tatyana McFadden in a close finish to defend her title.