London Marathon hails ‘greatest day’ as Sawe breaks two hours and records tumble | London Marathon

Organizers of the London Marathon have hailed the “greatest day” in the event’s 45-year history after huge crowds watched Sabastian Sawe become the first man to break the two-hour barrier in an official race and a world record count of more than 60,000 runners began.

Organizers had hoped to beat the record of 59,226 finishers set at last year’s New York City Marathon by 6.30pm on Sunday evening, but said the deadline could fall as low as 11.59pm.

Race director Hugh Brasher said an estimated 800,000 fans watched the epic men’s race, which Sawe and Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha ran in under two hours.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa set a women’s-only world record in races featuring only women’s pacesetters, but this was five minutes short of the women’s world record.

“Without a doubt it was the best day in the history of the London Marathon,” Brasher said. “You work for years and years, and sometimes the gods make it happen.

“We’ve got a women’s only world record, two men under two hours, a record number of starters and hopefully a record number of finishers. And I’m sure there will be a record number of people raising money for charity. Last year we raised £87 million. So yes, it’s the greatest day in the history of the marathon.”

Brasher, whose father Chris beat Sir Roger Bannister to the sub-four-minute distance in 1954, said Sawe’s time of 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds deserved to be seen in the same light.

“The part under four miles was in Britain,” he said. “There was a time of under two hours in Britain for the marathon. These are historic achievements. People said Sir Roger Bannister’s mile was the greatest sporting moment of the 20th century. Is this the greatest sporting moment of the 21st century? I don’t know, but it was magnificent.”

Brasher’s message was echoed by former women’s record holder Paula Radcliffe, who said breaking the two-hour barrier was a historic moment.

“Absolutely outstanding racing. What can you say?” he said. “Waiting this long and now having two men underwater for two hours is like waiting for a bus.

“It will echo around the world. The goalposts have been moved so that you can literally run a marathon and benchmark yourself as world-class. It’s done.”

Later, Sawe explained that a breakfast of two slices of bread, honey and a cup of tea revived him. He also paid tribute to the crowd that invited him to his home.

“I want to thank the crowd for cheering for us,” he said. “They help so much because without them you wouldn’t feel so loved. I think they help us so much, I think you feel so happy and so strong and so driven and so I would say… what’s going to happen today is not just for me, it’s for all of us who are in London today.”

There were many magical moments during a day when London celebrated the best of the capital and the best of humanity. These included Georgios Petroulakis from Greece, who ran 42 kilometers carrying his engagement ring, just after he proposed to his future wife, Ismini Sermea Marathaki.

But Eilish McColgan, bloodied by a blister on her foot, had less joy despite being the British women’s leader after finishing seventh in 2:24.51.

“Not long after halfway through I got a really bad blister on my foot,” he explained. “It feels weird to say it but the only way I can say it is I felt my foot explode. I just had a huge tear and I thought, what the hell is this? It was quite painful obviously, but the fact that it happened so early on made me panic a bit.”

“I had to go to the doctor after the race, I couldn’t put pressure on my foot and it was completely covered in blood.

Many celebrities also competed, including Olympian Laura Kenny, who finished the race in 3:45:05. Daddy Pig, who came to the aid of the National Deaf Children’s Association, finished the race with a time of 5:51:53.

Guinness world records officials were also busy with the 36 records broken throughout the day; among them was James Dowsett, who set the fastest marathon time in knight garb after running 4:21:10.

However, Gill Punt, who hoped to run the fastest marathon in a polar bear costume, could not do it that day. “It was a phenomenal atmosphere,” said Gill, who has raised more than £2 million for charity. “Screams and support got me through as I questioned my choice of furry costume.”