Marathon milestone shattered: Sabastian Sawe breaks the fabled 2-hour barrier by 30 seconds
A pair of African distance runners took down what was once among the most unthinkable records in sports on Sunday, shattering the long-unapproachable two-hour barrier in the 26. 2-mile (42. 2-kilometer) marathon.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, bettering the previous men’s world record by an astonishing 65 seconds. He beat Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who was running his first marathon and finished in 1:59. 41.
“What comes today is not for me alone,” Sawe said, “but for all of us today in London. ” Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda came in third, finishing in 2:00. 28.
That was seven seconds better than the previous world record held by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum and completed a podium in which all three men broke Kiptum’s three-year-old mark. Legend has it that the marathon’s distance is the same as the run a Greek soldier made from Marathon to Athens to announce a military victory in ancient times. On a relatively flat London course on a mostly sunny day in the low 60s (15 Celsius) — ideal for running — Sawe ran a faster second half, covering the second half of the race in 59:01.
He and Kejelcha pulled clear after 18. 5 miles (30 kilometers), then Sawe made his solo break in the final two kilometers. Fans showered him with loud cheers as he sprinted to the finish on The Mall.
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