Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe has officially entered the history books after World Athletics ratified his 1:59:30 clocking at the 2026 London Marathon as the men’s marathon world record, confirming him as the first man to break two hours in a legal, record-eligible race.
Sawe produced the historic time on 26 April, lowering the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon by 65 seconds.
The Kenyan sealed victory after a gripping battle with Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who also dipped under two hours in 1:59:41, and Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who completed the podium in 2:00:28.
The ratification carries added weight given that Eliud Kipchoge’s famous 1:59:40 in Vienna in 2019 came under specially controlled exhibition conditions and was never eligible for world record recognition.
Sawe’s run, by contrast, came in a standard competitive marathon that satisfied all World Athletics requirements, including mandatory anti-doping controls and course certification.
Sawe’s mark was one of eight global records ratified by World Athletics from performances recorded in the first five months of 2026.
In the women’s race in London, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa defended her title in 2:15:41, trimming nine seconds off her own women-only world record set at the same event a year earlier, with Kenya’s Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei completing a historic podium all inside 2:16.
