Kiplimo finishes third as Kenya’s Sawe breaks Marathon World Record in London
David GOMBE
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe became the first man in history to run a sub-two-hour marathon during the London Marathon on Sunday.
Sawe crossed the finishing line in one hour 59 minutes 30 seconds, more than one minute faster than the late Kelvin Kiptum’s previous record of 2:00:35, set in 2023.
The great Marathoner Eliud Kipchoge became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours in 2019 but his record ineligible since it was under controlled conditions.
At the halfway mark Sawe was already in record time of 1:00:29 and speeded up in the second half of the race to run even faster than Kipchoge’s time.
In the final 10km, he made the decisive move, with only Ethiopian debutant Yomif Kejelcha able to cover his surge off the front.
Kejelcha on his marathon debut, became the second man to run under two hours in race conditions, finishing runner-up in 1:59:41.
Uganda’s half marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo also crossed the line faster than Kiptum’s former record, completing the podium in 2:00:28.
Meanwhile, Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia broke her own women’s only world record in winning the London Marathon on Sunday.
The 29-year-old pulled away from Kenyans Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei down the home stretch to cross the finish line in two hours 15 minutes and 41 seconds, beating the record of 2:15.50 she set last year in London.