Sabastian Sawe breaks two-hour barrier and shatters world record
Kenyan Sabastian Sawe became the first person to break the legendary two-hour mark in the marathon.
Having experienced a great moment in sports history, Sawe broke the men’s world record of 65 seconds by winning the London Marathon in 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds on Sunday.
Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who finished in second place, completed his first marathon in under two hours with a time of 1:59:41, while Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo broke the previous world record set by Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023 by seven seconds with a time of 2:00:28.
Sawe, 29, who defended his title in London, thanked the huge crowds who lined the streets of the British capital to support him.
“What’s coming today is not just for me, it’s for all of us in London today,” Sawe said.
Showing an exciting display, Sawe ran the second half of the marathon in 59 minutes and 1 second, leaving Kejelcha behind after 30 kilometers and taking a break alone in the last two kilometers while running towards the finish of The Mall.
Assefa achieves fastest ever victory in women’s marathon
A record was also broken in the women’s race; Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa retained her championship by retiring from the race with about 500 meters remaining in 2:15:41, achieving the fastest time ever in a women’s only marathon.
However, this was 16 seconds slower than the course record set by Paula Radcliffe in a mixed race in 2003.
Swiss couple in wheelchair races
There was a Swiss couple in the wheelchair races; Marcel Hug claimed his sixth consecutive title and eighth overall, and Catherine Debrunner retained the title by beating Tatyana McFadden in a close finish.
access point
