London: Sebastian Sawe, a 31-year-old Kenyan runner, made history by winning the London Marathon 2026 with an unprecedented time of 1:59:30 hours. This achievement marks Sawe as the first person to officially complete a marathon distance of 42.195 kilometers in under two hours.
According to Thai News Agency, Sawe's remarkable performance broke the existing world record of 2:00:35 hours, which was set by the late Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum. Sawe surpassed Kiptum's milestone by an impressive 65 seconds, cementing his place in the annals of marathon history.
Before this monumental victory, Sawe was already known as a world-renowned long-distance runner, specializing in half marathons and 15-kilometer races. His transition to full marathons has been marked by success, with victories in the Valencia Marathon 2024, the London Marathon 2025, and the Berlin Marathon 2025, each with impressive finish times.
While Eliud Kipchoge had previously completed a marathon in under two hours during the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria, in 2019, his time of 1:59:40 was not recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (World Athletics) as a world record due to non-standard race conditions. Sawe's record, however, stands as an official world record, achieved under standard competition rules and conditions.