Sabastian Sawe made history at the TCS London Marathon by becoming the first man to officially break two hours for the distance, winning the World Athletics Platinum Label road race in a world record* of 1:59:30.
The Kenyan took 65 seconds off the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023, also surpassing Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59:41 exhibition performance from 2019 to record the fastest marathon ever run.
Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha finished second in 1:59:41 – the second-fastest performance in history and the fastest marathon debut ever – while Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo placed third in 2:00:28, also inside the previous world record.
In the women’s race, Tigst Assefa successfully defended her title, improving her own women-only world record to 2:15:41*.
The Ethiopian pulled clear in the closing stages to take nine seconds off the mark she set in London last year, leading home Kenya’s Hellen Obiri (2:15:53) and Joyciline Jepkosgei (2:15:55) as all three finished inside 2:16 for the first time in history.
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure
