Sawe ran sub-two hours at the London Marathon, surpassing Kelvin Kiptum's previous world record of 2:00:35 and rewriting the limits of the sport.

Historic finish in London

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya has become the first person to run a sub-two-hour marathon in a competitive race, crossing the line at the London Marathon in a time that breaks the world record.

The achievement ends decades of speculation about whether the two-hour mark was humanly possible under race conditions. Sawe's run surpassed Kelvin Kiptum's previous world record of 2:00:35, set at the same event.

A barrier once thought unreachable

The two-hour marathon has long been regarded as the sport's most symbolic threshold — a round number that athletes, coaches, and scientists debated for years. Previous attempts to crack it, conducted under controlled conditions with pacemakers and closed courses, were never ratified as official world records. Sawe's run, achieved in open competition, carries full record status.

The breakthrough has been described as moving the goalposts for marathon running.

Women's race

On the women's side, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa retained her crown at the London Marathon.

Context

Sawe's record comes days after Kenya's John Korir won the Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 1 minute, 52 seconds — described as the world's fifth-fastest time at the time of that race — underlining East Africa's continued dominance over the long-distance road-running calendar.