Kenya's Sawe becomes first human to run sub two-hour marathon

Kenya's Sebastian Sawe is now the first ever human being to complete a full marathon under two hours, a feat that he achieved on Sunday at the 46th edition of the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) London Marathon, completing the 26.2-mile course at a time of 1:59:30, shattering Kelvin Kiptum's 2:00:35 set back in 2023.

Sawe, now 31, has also defended the said marathon that he won in 2025, alongside the Berlin marathon, but in this one, he was in a star-studded field that included Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa, who won the women's category in 2:15:41 and Kenya's Hellen Obiri, who finished second after Assefa.

Sawe has now shattered the world record (previously 2:00:35), a record held by another Kenyan, Kelvin Kiptum since 2023 in the men's elite marathons, while Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha finished second, also under two hours.

The 2026 London Marathon featured a record-breaking 59,000 participants, and Elite runners who competed on the traditional 26.2-mile course from Greenwich to The Mall.