Sebastian Sawe Shatters Marathon Barrier with 1:59:30 London Run
On 26 April 2026, Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe became the first athlete to finish a competitive marathon in under two hours. He crossed the London Marathon finish line in 1:59:30, beating the previous record by over a minute. Sawe’s achievement came under full race conditions, without revolving pacers and in front of nearly 800,000 spectators. He passed halfway in 1:00:29 and ran the second half in 59:01, executing a remarkable negative split. The 31-year-old, who grew up in a small Rift Valley village and debuted in the marathon only in 2024, overcame an earlier injury and just two months of training to set this new world record. Upon returning to Kenya, he was honoured with a presidential award and presented a car featuring a custom “1:59:30” number plate in recognition of his historic run.
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