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Sabastian Sawe

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Sabastian Sawe
Sawe running the 2025 Berlin Marathon
Personal information
Full nameSabastian Kimaru Sawe
Born (1995-03-16) 16 March 1995 (age 31)[1]
Barsombe, Kenya
Sport
SportAthletics
Event
Long-distance running
TeamAdidas
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Kenya
World Road Running Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Riga Half-marathon
World Cross Country Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Bathurst Senior team
World Marathon Majors
Gold medal – first place 2025 Berlin Marathon
Gold medal – first place 2025 London Marathon
Gold medal – first place 2026 London Marathon

Sabastian Kimaru Sawe (born 16 March 1995) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who holds the world record in the marathon. Sawe made his debut at the 2024 Valencia Marathon, winning in 2:02:05. At the 2026 London Marathon, he became the first person to run a sub-two-hour marathon in a record-eligible race, setting a world record of 1:59:30.

Early life and background

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Sawe was born in the village of Barsombe in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya (today in Uasin Gishu County) to a father who worked as a maize farmer.[2][3] He was primarily raised by his grandmother.[3] Sawe grew up in a house without electricity.[4] He attended St Patrick's High School in Iten. He is married with three sons.[2]

Career

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Sawe's uncle Abraham Chepkirwok was national record holder in Uganda over 800m and Sawe himself ran over the middle-distances initially, and only ran 5000 metres for the first time in 2019 in serendipitous circumstances having arrived late for an athletics meet; with that distance the only race available. He won it in 13:56. Through his uncle's contacts he began to train with Abel Mutai, a former peer of Chepkirwok and an assistant coach at the 2Running Club, based in Nandi County and founded by Claudio Berardelli. However, in March 2020 he ruptured a tendon and his race time became limited and later he missed his international debut: pacing teammate Amos Kipruto at the 2020 Valencia Marathon after he failed a Covid test.[2]

Breakthrough

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In January 2022, Sawe finished his first half marathon in Seville in 59:02, despite initially starting the race as a pacemaker.[2] In March 2022, Sawe set a course record at the Rome-Ostia Half Marathon in a time of 58:02 (a non-record eligible course).[5] He set a then half marathon best of 58:58 from his win at the 2022 Bahrain Royal Night Half Marathon.[6]

In September 2022, Sawe set a Kenyan national record in the one hour run at the Memorial Van Damme with a distance of 21,250 metres, narrowly missing the world record.[7] Sawe finished seventh in the senior men's race at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships.[8][9] In December 2023, he won the 15 kilometres road race Montferland Run held in 's-Heerenberg in the Netherlands with a time of 42:35.[10] In September 2024, Sawe won the Copenhagen Half Marathon in a new personal best of 58:05.[11] On 1 December 2024, he won the Valencia Marathon in a world-leading time of 2:02:05.[12] This time brought him to the 5th place on the Marathon times all time list.[1] On 27 April 2025, Sawe won the London Marathon in a leading time of 2:02:27.[13]

This was followed in September 2025 with a win at the Berlin Marathon, with a time of 2:02:16.[14] In response to doping violations from other Kenyan athletes, Sawe underwent an unprecedented 25 out-of-competition drug tests from the AIU to combat suspicions of doping in the buildup to winning the Berlin Marathon.[15]

London Marathon world record

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On 26 April 2026, Sawe became the first person to complete a competitive marathon in under two hours when he won the London Marathon in 1:59:30.[16] A previous sub-two-hour run by Eliud Kipchoge in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in 2019 was not recognised as a valid record as it was not achieved under race conditions.[17] Sawe's run was also ten seconds faster than Kipchoge's and 65 seconds faster than the previous official record held by the late Kelvin Kiptum.[18] Sawe's former personal best was set in his debut Marathon in Valencia in 2024 with a time of 2:02:05.[19] Yomif Kejelcha of Ethopia finished second in a time of 1:59:41.[2]

The women's former world record holder Paula Radcliffe stated: "We've witnessed history being made, but it is more than that. It is an iconic barrier that there has been this discussion over for a long time about whether it is even possible."[3] Former world record holder and twice Olympic champion in the men's Marathon Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya stated: "My deepest congratulations to both Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha. Breaking the sub-two-hour barrier in the marathon has long been a dream for runners everywhere, and today you've made that dream come true."[3]

The race saw 800,000 spectators. The last time a men's world record was set in London was in 2002. Kelvin Kiptum formerly set the course record with 2:01:25. In preparation for the race, Sawe ran on average 200 km a week in the 6 weeks leading up to the run. His distance trained peaked at 241km a week. Sawe's running shoes for this race were a new lightweight model of super shoe – the Pro Evo 3 from Adidas which weigh just 97 grams (3.4 oz) on average.[20] The prize money for Sawe's win was £740,000.[citation needed]

London 2026 Marathon split times[21]
Distance Split Time
5k 14:14 14:14
10k 14:21 28:35
15k 14:35 43:10
20k 14:11 57:21
Half Marathon --- 1:00:39
25k 14:20 1:11:41
30k 14:22 1:26:03
35k 13:54 1:39:57
40k 13:42 1:53:39
Marathon (5:51) 1:59:30

Achievements

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Marathons
Personal bests[1]
Circuit wins

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sebastian Sawe datafile". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d Tanser, Toby (26 April 2026). "'He has no fear.' The phenomenal rise of Sabastian Sawe – the man who ran the first official sub-2 marathon". Runner's World. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d Poole, Harry (27 April 2026). "Sabastian Sawe: How Kenyan broke two-hour barrier to make history at London Marathon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  4. ^ Ingle, Sean; Mall, Sean Ingle on the (26 April 2026). "Sabastian Sawe breaks two-hour barrier to make history in London Marathon". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  5. ^ "Mokoka breaks world 50km record with 2:40:13 in Gqeberha". World Athletics. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Sawe, Tigist triumph in half-marathon". Daily Tribune. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Krop, Mahuchikh and Winger bounce back in Brussels with world-leading marks". World Athletics. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Jacob Kiplimo cruises to World Cross gold in Bathurst". AW. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Senior Race | Bathurst 23". World Athletics. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Pfixx Solar Montferland Run, Heerenburg". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  11. ^ "Copenhagen Half Marathon 2024". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  12. ^ "Valencia Marathon 2024: All top results and times – full list". Olympics.com. 1 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Assefa sets world record, Sawe destroys elite field in London Marathon". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Sebastian Sawe 2024 results". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  15. ^ LetsRun.com (14 April 2026). "How Kenyan Star Sabastian Sawe Is Trying to Save the Marathon's Reputation". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  16. ^ Poole, Harry (26 April 2026). "Sawe smashes two-hour mark to 'move goalposts for marathon running'". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  17. ^ Bisceglio, Paul (13 October 2019). "The Greatest, Fakest World Record". The Atlantic.
  18. ^ "Sabastian Sawe becomes first person to break two-hour marathon mark in record-setting London Marathon win". RTE. 26 April 2026.
  19. ^ "The Amazing Stats Behind Sabastian Sawe's Incredible 1:59:30 Marathon World Record". Runner's World. 26 April 2026. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  20. ^ Cheung, Adam. "Meet the £450 super shoe Sabastian Sawe just won the 2026 London Marathon in". British GQ. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  21. ^ McAlister, Sean (27 April 2026). "Sabastian Sawe 2026 London Marathon breakdown: stats and splits behind the new world record". olympics.com. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  22. ^ "Sebastian Sawe 2024 results". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  23. ^ "Results 2025". London Marathon. 27 April 2025. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  24. ^ Press, The Associated (26 April 2026). "Kenya's Sabastian Sawe is first person to run sub-2-hour marathon to win in London". NPR. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
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