Sebastian Sawe just ran the fastest marathon ever, smashing the world record in London!
Sebastian Sawe made history on Sunday morning by becoming the first man ever to run a marathon in under two hours. Before the race, he aimed for this huge goal and then raced to victory at the 2026 London Marathon, finishing the 26.2 miles in an amazing world-record time of 1:59:30.
He celebrated by holding up an Adidas shoe with the time written on it, becoming the first athlete to break the two-hour barrier in a real race. The old men’s marathon record was 2:00:35, held by the late Kelvin Kiptum, but Sawe smashed it while beating top runners Yomif Kejelcha and Jacob Kiplimo.
Sawe’s time was also 10 seconds faster than Eliud Kipchoge’s unofficial record from 2019, which happened in a special event with pacemakers and wasn’t an open competition. Kejelcha also ran under two hours, finishing in 1:59:40, and Kiplimo came in at 2:00:28.
What’s even more amazing is that this was only Sawe’s fifth marathon ever, and he crushed his previous London time of 2:02:27 from last year. BBC commentator Steve Cram called it, “history in the making” and said, “Nobody has ever done this. They said it couldn’t be done. It’s a historic moment. I’m honestly lost for words.”
Sawe’s story is really inspiring. He was originally hired as a pacemaker at the 2022 Seville half marathon but ended up winning with a time of 59 minutes and two seconds instead of just keeping pace.
After his incredible win, Sawe thanked the cheering crowds along the London course, which ends at The Mall near Buckingham Palace. “First of all, I want to thank the crowds,” he told Gabby Logan in a BBC interview. “They helped a lot. You feel so happy, strong, and motivated to keep going. What I did today is not just for me, but for everyone in London.”