LONDON — The impossible has officially been achieved. On Sunday morning, Kenyan long-distance runner Sebastian Sawe etched his name into the annals of sporting history, becoming the first person to break the elusive two-hour barrier in a competitive marathon.
Storming to victory at the 2026 London Marathon, the 31-year-old crossed the finish line with an astonishing official time of 1:59:30.
The performance shattered the previous men’s world record of 2:00:35, set at the 2023 Chicago Marathon by the late Kelvin Kiptum. Sawe’s mark even eclipsed the famous 1:59:40 achieved by his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge in Vienna in 2019—a milestone that was not recognized as an official world record because it was an orchestrated, non-competitive event utilizing a rotating team of pacemakers and a pace car. Sawe’s run, remarkably, was achieved under strict, open-race conditions.
“To set a new standard for marathon running and break the two-hour mark is a dream realized,” a triumphant Sawe said after the race, celebrating by hoisting one of his shoes—an ultra-lightweight Adidas Pro Evo 3—into the air with his historic time written across it in marker.
The 2026 London Marathon will go down as one of the greatest distance races of all time, driven by a blistering pace and fierce competition. An elite lead group of six runners crossed the halfway mark at 1:00:29. As the miles ticked by, the pack thinned until only Sawe and Ethiopian debutant Yomif Kejelcha remained in contention.
Locked in a breathtaking duel, the two athletes continuously pushed each other into the final kilometers. It wasn’t until the closing stages that Sawe found another gear, running an extraordinary negative split of 59:01 for the second half of the race to pull away from Kejelcha and secure the historic win.
Kejelcha’s performance was equally jaw-dropping. Competing in his first-ever marathon, the Ethiopian runner crossed the line in second place with a time of 1:59:41, also dipping under the mythical two-hour mark. Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo took third place at 2:00:28—a time that also bested Kiptum’s previous world record.
For his historic achievement, Sawe will walk away with an estimated prize pot of $355,000 (£263,000). The sum includes the $55,000 base prize for winning the elite men’s race, a $150,000 bonus for finishing under the 2:02:00 threshold, a $125,000 world record bonus, and a $25,000 course record bonus.
In the women’s elite race, the day was equally historic. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa successfully defended her title while breaking her own women-only world record, finishing a thrilling three-way sprint against Kenyan duo Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei with a time of 2:15:41.
Sunday’s monumental results in London cement a new era in human endurance, proving that the fabled two-hour limit was not a biological ceiling, but merely a milestone waiting to be conquered.
Stay tuned to ABT NEWS (www.abtnews.net) for continuing coverage and exclusive interviews from the world of international sports.
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