Sabastian Sawe breaks two-hour barrier with 1:59:30 world record at London Marathon

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 1:59:390.

In a landmark day for marathon running, Yomif Kejelcha finished second in 1:59:41 – the second-fastest time in history and the fastest marathon debut ever – while Tigst Assefa successfully defended her title with an improvement on her own women-only world record of 2:15:41.

From the outset, the race was set up for something special. The lead group – featuring Sawe, Kejelcha, three-time world cross-country champion Jacob Kiplimo, Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, 2022 London Marathon winner Amos Kipruto and Deresa Geleta – moved through the early miles at a controlled but ambitious pace, hitting 5km in 14:14 (2:00:03 pace).

They remained together through 10km (28:34) and 15km (43:10), before reaching halfway in 1:00:29.

The lead sextet continued to run together for the next 10 kilometres, but by 30km (1:26:03), they had begun to string out, the sustained pace starting to take its toll.

The decisive phase came between 30km and 35km. A 13:54 5km split saw Sawe and Kejelcha edge clear, dropping Kiplimo, who remained in third some 21 seconds adrift. The leading duo then accelerated again, covering the next 5km in 13:42 as the likelihood of a sub-two-hour finish increased with each step.

Defending champion Sawe made his move with one mile remaining, finally breaking clear of Kejelcha and pressing on alone. He crossed the line in 1:59:30, taking 65 seconds off the previous world record set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023 and becoming the first athlete to run a legal sub-two-hour marathon, surpassing Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59:41 exhibition performance from 2019.

Kejelcha followed in an Ethiopian record of 1:59:41, the second-fastest performance in history and the quickest ever marathon debut, while Kiplimo secured third place in a Ugandan record of 2:00:28, also inside the previous world record.

Further back, Amos Kipruto finished fourth in 2:01:39, with Tola (2:02:59) and Geleta (2:03:23) completing a remarkable top six.

The women’s race also delivered a performance of historic significance, led by defending champion Tigst Assefa.

A lead quartet of Assefa, two-time Boston and New York champion Hellen Obiri, 2021 London Marathon winner Joyciline Jepkosgei and Catherine Reline Amanang’ole set the early tempo, passing 5km in 15:39 (2:12:02 pace) and 10km in 31:03, already opening a significant gap on the chasers.

Amanang’ole began to drop back before 15km (46:39), leaving a leading trio of Assefa, Obiri and Jepkosgei. They reached halfway in 1:06:12 (2:12:24 pace), half a minute quicker than Assefa’s record-breaking run the previous year.

The trio remained together through much of the second half, extending their advantage over the rest of the field. Their pace dropped and a sub-2:15 finish slipped out of reach, but they remained on course to improve Assefa’s women-only world record.

In the closing stages, Assefa gradually edged clear to secure victory in 2:15:41, taking nine seconds off her own global mark. Behind her, Obiri – making her London debut – finished second in a PB of 2:15:53, with Jepkosgei close behind in 2:15:55, marking the first time three women have finished inside 2:16 in the same race.