Sports News

Sawe runs 1:59:30 in London: the first official sub-two-hour marathon

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the London Marathon on Sunday, 26 April, in 1:59:30. NPR reported that he is the first person to run a marathon under two hours, and that he beat the previous world record by 65 seconds. Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha also went under two hours, finishing second in 1:59:41 in his first marathon. Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo was third in 2:00:28, seven seconds faster than the old record.

The Reuters report carried by Malay Mail explained why this counts as a first. Eliud Kipchoge's sub-two-hour runs at Nike's Breaking2 in 2017 and the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in 2019 were not official races. The record Sawe broke was Kelvin Kiptum's 2:00:35 from Chicago in 2023. It said conditions were near ideal and that Sawe had been injured in the autumn, only starting proper training in January.

“The main reason was to show that I am clean, and I am doing it the right way.” — Sabastian Sawe, via Malay Mail (Reuters)

Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia won the women's race in 2:15:41, the fastest women-only marathon. Switzerland's Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner won the wheelchair races. Guinness World Records counted 38 record titles set or broken on the day.

How each outlet framed it

• NPR — the history: a first for humanity, with two men under two hours.
• Malay Mail (Reuters) — context: why earlier attempts don't count, his injury, and doping.
• Daily Monitor — the Ugandan view: Kiplimo's third place in the race that made history.
• Guinness World Records — the record count across the elite and mass races.

Where the numbers differ: Guinness World Records compared Sawe's time with a 1:59:40 for Kipchoge, while Reuters treated Kiptum's 2:00:35 as the record. Guinness also gave Assefa's time as both 2:15:40 and 2:15:41.