Kenya's Sabastian Sawe became the first man to run a marathon under two hours, winning the London Marathon in a stunning 1:59:30 on Sunday. The 31-year-old obliterated the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by his late compatriot Kelvin Kiptum at the Chicago Marathon in October 2023, improving it by 65 seconds.

Sawe, who remains undefeated in marathons, held off Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha over the final stretch. Kejelcha finished second in 1:59:41 on his marathon debut, while Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo took bronze in 2:02:28. All three athletes finished under Kiptum's previous record.

"We started the race well, and at the end, I was feeling strong. Finally, reaching the finishing line, I saw the time, and I was so excited," Sawe said. "I was very prepared because coming to London for the second time was so important to me."

In the women's race, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa defended her title, winning in 2:15:41 to break her own course record by nine seconds. Kenya's Hellen Obiri took silver in a personal best of 2:15:53, just 0.02 seconds ahead of compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei.

The world record in a mixed race remains with Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich (2:09:56), though she received a three-year doping ban in October 2024. Switzerland's Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner won the men's and women's wheelchair events, with Hug claiming his sixth consecutive London title.

Source: www.aljazeera.com