Sabastien Sawe becomes the first person in history to run a marathon in under two hours. This time is 65 seconds faster than the previous record set by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum in 2023. Yomif Kejelcha also fell below the 2-hour mark. Tigst Assefa retains women’s title in record time
Last updated: 26/04/26 1:15pm
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Sabastien Sawe wins the London Marathon, becoming the first person to run an official marathon in less than two hours
Sabastien Sawe wins the London Marathon, becoming the first person to run an official marathon in less than two hours
On Sunday, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe broke the men’s world record by winning the 2026 London Marathon in 1:59:30.
His incredible run broke the record set by the late Kelvin Kiptum, who ran the 2023 Chicago Marathon in 2:00:35, by 35 seconds.
Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha followed Sawe for most of the 42.195km course, fading out on the final straight to finish second in his marathon debut with a time of 1:59.41, while Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo took bronze with a time of 2:02.28.
“I was really excited when I saw the time,” Sowe told BBC Sport after sprinting down The Mall past Buckingham Palace and taking the solo break with two kilometers to go.
“First of all, I would like to thank the crowd. They helped me a lot. I feel very happy, strong and supported.
“What comes to me today is not for me alone, but for all of us in London.”
Assefa breaks her own record and wins the women’s title
Tigst Assefa celebrates winning the 2026 London Marathon women’s elite race
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa won the women’s title in a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 41 seconds, breaking her own record from last year’s London Marathon.
The 29-year-old pulled away from Kenyans Helen Obiri and Joycilin Jepkosgei in the home stretch and crossed the finish line in 2 minutes 15.41 seconds, breaking the record of 2 minutes 15.50 seconds she set in London last year.
However, this was 16 seconds slower than the course record set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003, which was a mixed race.
Obiri took second with a time of 2:15.53, and Jepkosgei took bronze with a time of 2:15.55.
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug and Catherine DeBrunner won the men’s and women’s wheelchair events.
Blowfish won for the sixth consecutive year and eighth time in total, while DeBruner overtook American Tatiana McFadden until the end and achieved her third consecutive victory at the London Games.
