Sebastian Sawe of Kenya created history in the London Marathon 2026 on Sunday. He became the first male racer to finish the marathon in less than two hours, clocking in at one hour, fifty-nine minutes and thirty seconds. The late Kelvin Kiptum’s world record of 2:00:35 from the 2023 Chicago Marathon was surpassed by the 31-year-old Sawe.
Who came in second?
Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha came in second with a time of 1:59:41. Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda won the bronze medal with a timing of 2:00:28, although he completed the race in less than two hours. With a time of 2:15:41, Tigst Asefa of Ethiopia broke her own world mark in the women’s division. She finished the marathon in London last year in 2:15:50, setting a new record. Helen Obiri of Kenya and Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya came in second and third, respectively.
Excitement was sky-high right from the start
Right from the beginning, this competition suggested something unique. The leading competitors were Sawe, Kejelcha, Jacob Kiplimo, a three-time world cross-country champion, Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, 2022 London Marathon victor Amos Kipruto, and Deressa Geleta. This set of six runners moved together for the following 10 kilometers, but by the 30-kilometer mark (1:26:03), the distance between them had increased. The impacts of running at a quicker speed were starting to become evident.
The critical moment of the race occurred between 30 km and 35 km. Save and Kejelcha gained the advantage with a 5 km split of 13:54, distancing Kiplimo. Kiplimo secured the third position. The two leading competitors picked up their speed once more, completing the next 5 km in 13:42, boosting their likelihood of finishing in under two hours with every stride.
Reigning champion Sawe made his move with a mile left in the race; he ultimately passed Kejelcha and kept running solo. He completed the race in 1:59:30. With this achievement, he surpassed the earlier world record, established by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023, by 65 seconds. He was the first athlete to finish a marathon in under two hours.
Who won the Women’s race?
The women’s competition featured an impressive showing, spearheaded by reigning champion Tigst Assefa. The four-member team, made up of Assefa, two-time Boston and New York winner Helen Obiri, 2021 London Marathon champion Joyceline Jepkosgei, and Catherine Releene Amanang’ole, established a solid pace at the beginning of the race. They completed the 5km race in 15:39 (2:12:02 pace) and the 10km race in 31:03, significantly ahead of the competitors.
Amanang’ole started to lag behind prior to the 15 km mark (46:39), allowing a trio of Asefa, Obiri, and Jepkosgei to lead the race. They arrived at the midpoint in 1:06:12 (2:12:24 pace), thirty seconds quicker than Asefa’s record-setting run from the previous year.
The trio stayed together for the majority of the latter half, widening their advantage over the other competitors. Asefa steadily gained the lead in the closing moments of the race and finished in 2:15:41, breaking her previous world record by nine seconds. Obiri, competing in her inaugural marathon in London, secured second place with a personal record of 2:15:53, while Jepkosgei came in third at 2:15:55. This marked the first occasion on which three women completed a race in under 2:16.
