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≡ TWO GET SUB-2 MARATHONS! ≡
Kenyan great Eliud Kipchoge already showed in his October 2019 time trial that a sub-2:00 marathon is not just possible, but a reality with his 1:59:41 effort in Vienna (AUT).
On Sunday, it happened in competition as fellow Kenyan Sabastian Sawe won his fourth career marathon – without a loss – and crushed countryman Kelvin Kiptum’s 2:00:35 from 2023 with a brilliant 1:59:30 victory at the TCS London Marathon.
Sawe did not run alone; he had company in Ethiopian star Yomif Kejelcha, the two-time World Indoor 3,000 m gold medalist and two-time World Championships 10,000 m runner-up, who also smashed the two-hour barrier and finished second in 1:59:41. Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, the world-record holder in the half-marathon at 56:42, ran 2:00:28 and was a distant third.
Astonishing.
Sawe, the defending champion, was in front from the start and stayed at or near the front the whole way. His amazing fitness (and Kejelcha’s) is shown by breaking the race down into 5 km segments:
● 5 km: 14:14 (6 in lead pack)
● 10 km: 28:35 (6) ~ 14:21 segment
● 15 km: 43:10 (6) ~ 14:35
● 20 km: 57:21 (6) ~ 14:11
● 25 km: 1:11:41 (6) ~ 14:20
● 30 km: 1:26:03 (3) ~ 14:22
● 35 km: 1:39:57 (3) ~ 13:54
● 40 km: 1:53:39 (2) ~ 13:42
Sawe passed the half in 1:00:29, so he ran the second half of the race in 59:01, which would be 15th on the world list for 2026 right now! Yowsah! He finished the last 2.2 km in 5:51.
Kejelcha was right with Sawe until just after the 40 km mark and Sawe pulled away to finish in 1:59:30 and Kejelcha 11 seconds back. The results completely re-wrote the list of top performances in history:
● 1:59:30 ~ Sabastian Sawe (KEN) ‘26 in London
● 1:59:41 ~ Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) ‘26 in London (debut)
● 2:00:28 ~ Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) ‘26 in London
● 2:00:35 ~ Kevin Kiptum (KEN) ‘23
● 2:01:09 ~ Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) ‘22
/5/
● 2:01:25 ~ Kiptum ‘23
● 2:01:39 ~ Kipchoge ‘18
● 2:01:39 ~ Amos Kipruto (KEN) ‘26 in London
● 2:01:41 ~ Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) ‘19
● 2:01:48 ~ Sisay Lemma (ETH) ‘23
/10/
Said the winner:
“I feel good, I’m so happy. It is a day to remember for me. We started the race well, and I felt strong we approached finishing the end. When I got to the finish line, I saw the time and I was so excited.
“Coming to London for the second time was so important to me and that’s why I prepared well for it. What I had done for four months, it has come today to be a good result.”
He won $55,000 for the victory, and bonuses for the course record ($25,000), the world record ($125,000) and a sub-2:02 time of ($150,000), for a total payday of $355,000. Kejelcha won $30,000 for second and the sub-2:02 bonus of $150,000 for a $180,000 total.
Sawe continued her perfect record in marathons, with four wins in four races: Valencia 2024, London 2025, Berlin 2025 and now London 2026. Will he try for another record on Berlin’s famously flat course?
¶
The women’s race had defending champion Tigst Assefa facing two-time Boston winner Hellen Obiri (KEN) and 2021 London champ Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) at the front of the race from the start and they had a clear gap on the field by the 10 km mark.
They raced together past the half in 1:06:12, so records were on their mind. But while the pace slowed a bit, they stayed together right through the 40 km mark in 2:08:27.
Assefa finally ground down her chasers and won in 2:15:41, improving her women-only marathon record of 2:15:50 from her London ‘25 victory. Obiri got a lifetime best of 2:15:53 in second and Jepkosgei was third in 2:15:55.
It’s Assefa’s third-fastest marathon in her career and the no. 15 performance in history. It was her eighth career marathon, with four wins and three seconds, including a 2024 Olympic silver and 2025 Worlds silver. Obiri moved to no. 12 on the all-time list.
Assefa won $55,000 for the win, got the $25,000 course-record bonus, the $125,000 world-record bonus and a $75,000 time bonus for a $280,000 payday.
¶
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