Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe made history at the TCS London Marathon on Saturday by becoming the first man to officially break the two-hour barrier in the marathon, storming to victory in a world record time of 1:59:30 at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race.
In a landmark performance, Sawe took 65 seconds off the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023, while also surpassing Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59:41 exhibition run from 2019 to become the first athlete to run a legal sub-two-hour marathon.
Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha also delivered a historic run, finishing second in 1:59:41 — the second-fastest marathon time in history and the fastest marathon debut ever.
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Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo claimed third place in a national record of 2:00:28, also inside the previous world record mark.
From the start, the men’s race was clearly set up for something extraordinary.
The lead pack featuring Sawe, Kejelcha, Kiplimo, Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, 2022 London Marathon winner Amos Kipruto and Deresa Geleta moved at a controlled but ambitious pace.
They hit 5km in 14:14, which projected a 2:00:03 finish, before maintaining formation through 10km in 28:34 and 15km in 43:10.
The group reached halfway in 1:00:29.
The six leaders stayed together for another 10 kilometres, but by 30km, reached in 1:26:03, the relentless pace began to stretch the field.
The decisive break came between 30km and 35km.
A rapid 13:54 split saw Sawe and Kejelcha pull away from the rest, dropping Kiplimo, who stayed in third, 21 seconds behind.
The front pair then accelerated again, covering the next 5km in an astonishing 13:42, with the possibility of a sub-two-hour finish becoming increasingly realistic.
Defending champion Sawe launched his decisive move with one mile remaining, finally breaking clear of Kejelcha before charging alone to the finish line.
Kejelcha followed shortly behind in an Ethiopian record of 1:59:41, while Kiplimo completed the podium with his Ugandan record of 2:00:28.
Further back, Amos Kipruto finished fourth in 2:01:39, Tola placed fifth in 2:02:59, while Geleta completed the remarkable top six in 2:03:23.
Assefa Defends Women’s Title in Record Fashion
The women’s race also produced a performance of historic significance as Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa successfully defended her title, improving her own women-only world record with a winning time of 2:15:41.
A lead quartet of Assefa, Kenya’s two-time Boston and New York Marathon champion Hellen Obiri, 2021 London Marathon winner Joyciline Jepkosgei and Catherine Reline Amanang’ole set the early pace.
They passed 5km in 15:39, equivalent to a 2:12:02 pace, and 10km in 31:03, already opening a significant gap on the chasing pack.
Amanang’ole began to fade before the 15km mark, reached in 46:39, leaving Assefa, Obiri and Jepkosgei in front.
The trio reached halfway in 1:06:12, half a minute faster than Assefa’s previous record-breaking run in London.
They remained together for much of the second half, extending their lead over the rest of the field.
Although the pace slowed and a sub-2:15 finish slipped away, they remained on course to improve the women-only world record.
In the closing stages, Assefa gradually pulled clear to secure victory in 2:15:41, shaving nine seconds off her own global mark.
Obiri, making her London Marathon debut, finished second in a personal best of 2:15:53, while Jepkosgei was close behind in 2:15:55.
It marked the first time in history that three women finished inside 2:16 in the same marathon race.
Leading Results
Men
Sabastian Sawe (KEN) – 1:59:30
Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) – 1:59:41
Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) – 2:00:28
Amos Kipruto (KEN) – 2:01:39
Tamirat Tola (ETH) – 2:02:59
Deresa Geleta (ETH) – 2:03:23
Addisu Gobena (ETH) – 2:05:23
Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) – 2:05:38
Peter Lynch (IRL) – 2:06:08
Mahamed Mahamed (GBR) – 2:06:14
Women
Tigst Assefa (ETH) – 2:15:41
Hellen Obiri (KEN) – 2:15:53
Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) – 2:15:55
Degitu Azimeraw (ETH) – 2:19:13
Catherine Reline Amanang’ole (KEN) – 2:21:20
Eunice Chumba (BRN) – 2:23:44
Eilish McColgan (GBR) – 2:24:51
Julia Paternain (URU) – 2:25:47
Rose Harvey (GBR) – 2:26:14
Marta Galimany (ESP) – 2:27:38
The world record is subject to the usual ratification procedure.
Editor’s note: This story was obtained from World Athletics.
