Kenya's Sabastian Sawe sets new world record at London Marathon, breaking two-hour barrier
via The Namibian5 min read
Kenya's Sabastian Sawe made history at the London Marathon on April 26, 2026, becoming the first man to complete a marathon in under two hours in race conditions. The 31-year-old achieved a time of 1 hour, 59 minutes, 30 seconds, surpassing Kelvin Kiptum's previous record of 2:00:35 set in 2023. Sawe's performance included a remarkable second half split of 59:01. He attributed his success to his preparation, the support of the crowd, and the advanced Adidas shoes he wore, which weighed under 100 grams. Second-placed Yomif Kejelcha also broke the two-hour barrier, finishing in 1:59:41. Sawe's Italian coach, Claudio Berardelli, praised his athlete's attitude and character, noting that Sawe had been training at an average of 200km per week, peaking at 241km. To address concerns about doping, Sawe voluntarily underwent extensive drug testing, paying $50,000 to the Athletics Integrity Unit for 25 tests in the year leading up to the Berlin race.
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