• ATHLETICS

• Frank Rotich 4 hrs ago

Kenya’s Sawe makes history with first official sub-two marathon run

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe etched his name into athletics history after becoming the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours during a competitive race at the London Marathon on Sunday.

Sawe stunned the world after clocking 1:59:30 to win the race and smash the previous world record of 2:00:35, which was set by the late Kenyan marathon star Kelvin Kiptum at the Chicago Marathon.

The remarkable performance also saw Sawe successfully defend his London Marathon title in style as he rewrote marathon history on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha also delivered a historic performance after finishing second in 1:59:41 in his marathon debut, becoming the first Ethiopian athlete to break the two-hour mark in an official race.

Before Sunday’s race, only Kenya’s legendary marathoner Eliud Kipchoge had managed to run under two hours after clocking 1:59:40 at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna in 2019. However, that run was not recognised as an official world record because it was done under controlled conditions.

Sawe’s performance in London now stands as the first official sub-two-hour marathon in a competitive race.

The Kenyan started strongly but remained composed throughout the race. He passed the 5km mark in 14:14 and reached 10km in 28:35, showing early signs of a record-breaking run.

He hit the halfway mark in 1:00:29, staying comfortably on world record pace before maintaining impressive consistency in the middle stages of the race.

While many runners struggle in the final kilometres of a marathon, Sawe grew stronger and increased his pace after the 35km mark.

He crossed 35km in 1:39:57 before producing a powerful finish in the closing stages to stop the clock at a historic 1:59:30.

In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa successfully defended her title after winning in an unofficial 2:15:41, breaking her own women-only world record of 2:15:50 set in London last year.

Sawe’s victory marks another major milestone for Kenyan athletics and confirms his growing status as one of the world’s top marathon stars.