The two-hour barrier in the full marathon has finally been broken.
Kenyan Sabastian Sawe won the men's race at the 2026 London Marathon on April 26 (Korean time), covering the 42.195 km (26.22 miles) course in 1:59:30.
Sawe erased Kelvin Kiptum's previous world record of 2:00:35, set at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, and became the first athlete to finish a full marathon in under two hours.
Notably, Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha finished second in 1:59:41, also breaking the two-hour barrier.
Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo took third in 2:00:28, a time faster than the prior world mark as well.
Sawe set a controlled, strong pace from the gun, hitting halfway in 1:00:29. He remained with the lead group through the 30 km point (1:26:03) before making a decisive surge and engaging Kejelcha in a tense duel for the title.
The two traded blows through 40 km, but with about 1.7 km to go Sawe pushed the pace, opened a gap on Kejelcha and held on to cross the finish line first, cementing a historic performance.
The women's race produced a world record as well.
Ethiopia's Tigist Assefa crossed the line in 2:15:41, trimming roughly nine seconds off the world record she set at this event last year (2:15:50).
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