Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe shatters marathon world record, two-hr barrier

The 2026 edition of TCS London Marathon witnessed history when two runners smashed the two-hour finish barrier and three runners smashed the existing world record for marathon.

On April 26, 2026, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe and Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha smashed the two-hour finish barrier at the London Marathon on April 26, 2026.

Sawe, the 30-year-old runner from Kenya, crossed the finish line at London Marathon in one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, 65 seconds faster that the existing world record of 2:00:35 set by his late compatriot Kelvin Kiptum (also of Kenya) in 2023, media reports said.

Sabastian Sawe – photo downloaded from the X account of World Athletics. No copyright infringement intended

Ethiopia’s Kejelcha finished in 1:59:41 and Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo came third in 2:00:28, London Marathon 2026 results showed. Kejelcha broke the two-hour barrier in his debut marathon.

In October 2019, Kenya’s running legend Eliud Kipchoge (also a world record holder for some time) was the first person in history to run a marathon in sub-two hours in Vienna, Austria, at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge. But it has not been considered as the world record at that time because the event was held in controlled circumstances.

TCS London Marathon is one of the seven Abbott World Marathon Majors and is widely known for its fast and flat course.