Well, it finally happened. Someone ran a marathon in under two hours. And no, we're not talking about your overly enthusiastic neighbor who swears he clocked a 1:58 on his Apple Watch during a training run. This was the London Marathon. And Kenya's Sabastian Sawe is now officially the first man in history to break that mythical barrier.
Sawe crossed the finish line with a jaw-dropping time of 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds. Let that satisfying number sink in. He didn't just break the previous world record of 2:00:35, set by his late countryman Kelvin Kiptum last October; he absolutely shattered it by a full 65 seconds. Sawe, 31, remains undefeated in every marathon he's ever run. Because apparently, that's just what you do when you're making history.
Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha, making his marathon debut, was hot on Sawe's heels for most of the race, finishing a mere 11 seconds later at 1:59:41. Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo took third with 2:02:28. All three finished faster than the previous world record. Which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying for anyone else trying to win a marathon in the near future.
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Start Your News DetoxSawe, who had prepared meticulously for his second London outing, said he felt strong throughout and was "excited" to see his record time. We imagine "excited" is putting it mildly. (For context, Kiptum, the previous record holder, tragically died in a car crash earlier this year at just 24 years old.)
More Records Fall in London
The women's race saw Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa not only defend her London Marathon title but also break her own women's-only world record. She finished in 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 41 seconds, shaving nine seconds off her previous best on the same course. Assefa, an Olympic and world silver medalist, pulled away from Kenya's Hellen Obiri (who snagged second with a personal best of 2:15:53) and Joyciline Jepkosgei in the final stages.
Just for good measure, the overall world record for a mixed race (where women run with male pacemakers) still belongs to Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich, who clocked 2:09:56 in October 2024. (Yes, she received a doping ban in October 2025, but her earlier records still stand. Because sports.)
And not to be outdone, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner dominated the wheelchair events. Hug secured his sixth consecutive and eighth overall London Marathon win, while Debrunner took her third straight victory in London. Because when you're breaking records, why stop at just one category?
