Athletics: World record in the marathon, Sawe breaks the two-hour barrier in London

Turin, 26 Apr. (LaPresse) – For the first time in history, an athlete has managed to run a marathon in under two hours. The man to achieve this feat is 31-year-old Kenyan Sabastian Sawe, who triumphed in London with a time of 1h59:30, in a fiercely contested race that saw another marathoner break the two-hour barrier: Yomif Kejelcha, who finished second in 1h59:41. Third, and also the third runner to beat the previous world record held by the late Kelvin Kiptum, was the Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who, in 2h00:28, had to settle for ‘just’ the national record, as did Kejelcha with the Ethiopian record. Worth noting is the way Sawe built up his world record, having already won the Roma-Ostia in 2022 and also finished first at the BoClassic in late 2023; today he clocked 1h00:29 at the halfway point and a stratospheric 59.01 in the second half. Olympic and world champion Tamirat Tola finished fifth in 2:02:59. The top European was Ireland’s Peter Lynch, ninth with a national record of 2:06:08. On this unforgettable day in London, the world record in the ‘women-only’ race fell for the third consecutive year. Following the 2h16:16 set by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir in 2024 and Tigist Assefa’s 2h15:50 a year ago, it was once again the Ethiopian Assefa who improved on her time, confirming her 2025 London victory with a time of 2h15:41. It was a thrilling race featuring the top trio – Assefa alongside Kenyans Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei – who dominated proceedings and made up the podium, with Obiri finishing second in a personal best of 2h15:53 (her first time in London) and Jepkosgei third (five podiums in as many appearances in London) in 2h15:55, both very close to the old women’s marathon world record. The best of the Europeans was Scotland’s Eilish McColgan, seventh in 2h24:51.