London Marathon 2026: Sebastian Sawe becomes first man to run marathon under two hours

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe surprised the world by becoming the first man to run a marathon under two hours when he won the London Marathon, achieving a remarkable world-record time of 1:59:30 on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Sawe has never lost a marathon. He smashed the previous record held by the late Kelvin Kiptum who set a time of 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon in October 2023. 

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Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe made history by winning in 1:59:30, becoming the first person to officially break the two-hour barrier in a competitive marathon.

Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha finished a close second in his marathon debut with a time of 1:59:41, while Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo took the bronze in 2:00:28. Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia defended her title and broke her own women- only record, finishing in 2:15:41. 

Assefa narrowly beat Kenyans Hellen Obiri (2:15:53) and Joyciline Jepkosgei (2:15:55) in a thrilling sprint finish. Switzerland dominated as Marcel Hug secured his sixth consecutive London title, while Catherine Debrunner won her third straight women’s wheelchair race. 

The race occurred in the shadow of the late Kelvin Kiptum, the former world record holder who tragically passed away in 2024 at age 24.