Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe makes history with first sub-two-hour marathon

Sawe set a world record by running sub-two hours in the London Marathon, surpassing Kelvin Kiptum’s previous mark by 65 seconds and prompting discussions about the new human limits in marathon running.

Preparations resumed in early February 2026 after the back problem.

A back issue left Sawe almost giving up in January 2026, delaying his preparations until early February.

A reported 25 out-of-competition tests occurred in the lead-up to the Berlin Marathon in September 2025, with testing continuing as he prepared for London.

Sawe suffered a stress fracture in his foot following the Berlin Marathon in 2025.

Sawe won Berlin in 2025 with 2:02:16, targeting the world record in Berlin before a bid was ended by 25°C heat.

Sawe won the London Marathon in 2025 with a time of 2:02:27, following his Valencia debut.

Sawe ran the second-fastest marathon debut in history in Valencia in 2024, finishing in 2:02:05, 12 seconds behind Kiptum’s first marathon time.

Kelvin Kiptum ran his first marathon in Chicago in 2023, later establishing the world record in Chicago in 2023.

In the 2022 Seville half marathon, Sawe started as a pacemaker, dropped all competitors within the first 10km, and went on to win with a course-record time.

Sawe moved to Iten to pursue running ambitions, and Italian coach Claudio Berardelli identified marathon potential and began guiding him away from track competition.

Jacob Kiplimo, a half marathon world record holder, also beats Kiptum's former marathon record time in London.

Yomif Kejelcha, making his marathon debut, also goes sub-two hours.

Sawe breaks the marathon world record on the London course, beating the previous mark by 65 seconds; the article notes the time but does not disclose it.

Sawe underwent 25 out-of-competition tests in the lead-up to Berlin in September 2025, continuing at a similar rate as for London.

Sawe finishes Berlin Marathon in 2:02:16; the bid to break the world record is ended by 25°C heat.

Sawe wins the London Marathon in 2:02:27.

Sawe runs the second-fastest marathon debut in history in Valencia, clocking 2:02:05.

Kelvin Kiptum breaks the men's marathon world record in Chicago (2023).

Sabastian Sawe, who had not previously competed on the road, started as a pacemaker at the Seville Half Marathon, dropped everyone within the first 10km, and went on to win with a course-record time.

Kelvin Kiptum runs his first marathon.

In the London Marathon, Sawe finished first in 1:59:30, breaking the official two-hour barrier. Yomif Kejelcha finished 11 seconds behind in 1:59:41 and Jacob Kiplimo was third in 2:00:28. Tigist Assefa also set a women’s-only world record with 2:15:41.

A newly launched cutting-edge 'super-shoe' costing $500 debuted ahead of the London Race, intended to debut in London for Sawe, Kejelcha and Assefa, alongside a latest running suit claimed to improve running economy by up to 1%.

In June 2025, Faith Kipyegon launched a bid to become the first woman to run a sub-4-minute mile under supervised conditions; she lowered her own mile world record but could not go below the mark in Paris.

Sawe won both the London and Berlin marathons in 2025, clocking 2:02:16 in those races.

In his marathon debut, Sawe won the Valencia Marathon in 2024 with a time of 2:02:05.

Two years after Monza, Kipchoge took another shot at a curated sub-two-hour attempt on the streets of Vienna; the timings from this race are not considered official by World Athletics.

Nike's Breaking2 project staged a private attempt to complete a sub-two-hour marathon in Monza, Italy, featuring scientists studying conditions, the latest shoes, and a shield of pace setters. Although Kipchoge reportedly broke the world record, he fell short of the sub-two-hour goal.