Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe has become the first person to run a marathon in under two hours.
He set the milestone by winning the London Marathon on Sunday in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, breaking the previous record.
The time was 65 seconds faster than the mark set by fellow Kenyan Kelvin Kiptom in Chicago in 2023.
This was also 10 seconds faster than Eliud Kipchoge’s time in Vienna in 2019. That finish was not recognized as an official record because it was not in open competition and was assisted by a pacemaker.
There was also a record-breaking performance in the women’s race, where Ethiopia’s Tigaste Assefa defended her title in 2 hours 15 minutes and 41 seconds – the fastest time ever in a women’s race alone. Assefa had overtaken in the last 500 metres.
This mark was 16 seconds slower than the overall course record set by Paula Radcliffe in the mixed race in 2003.
In the wheelchair events, Switzerland achieved a double as Marcel Hug won his sixth consecutive men’s title and eighth overall, while Catherine Debrunner defeated Tatyana McFadden to retain the women’s crown.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated…