Kenya's Sabastian Sawe made history on Sunday after becoming the fastest marathon runner in history. Sawe, 30, completed the race in an incredible time of 1:59:30, setting a new world record. The Kenyan is the first ever to complete a marathon in under 2 hours, breaking the previous record by 55 seconds in a historic achievement.
Sawe runs fastest ever marathon
The 30-year-old Kenyan crossed the finish line in an astonishing 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds, becoming the first athlete to officially complete a marathon in under two hours. His time was more than a minute faster than the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.
Legendary runner Eliud Kipchoge had broken the two-hour mark in 2019 with a time of 1:59:40, but that achievement was not considered an official world record because it was achieved under controlled, non-competitive conditions.
Who is Sabastian Sawe?
Sabastian Sawe began his career by making a name for himself in cross-country and road racing. He performed strongly at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships and set a Kenyan national record in the one-hour run in Brussels in 2022. He also impressed in half marathons, running a personal best of 58:05 in Copenhagen in 2024.
He made his marathon debut at the 2024 Valencia Marathon and won it in an outstanding time of 2:02:05. It was the fastest marathon time in the world that year and immediately established him as one of the top marathon runners in the world. In 2025, Sawe continued his rise by winning both the London Marathon and the Berlin Marathon. These victories proved his consistency and strength on the biggest stages of long-distance running. Before returning to London in 2026, he was already seen as the strongest contender to break the two-hour marathon barrier.
