It is a day that will go down in running and sporting history – the moment the two-hour mark was first broken as Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe stopped the clock in 1:59:30 at the London Marathon.
Only one athlete had ever gone under two hours – marathon great Eliud Kipchoge. But that was in a very different and non-race environment as part of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna in 2019.
So what happened on the streets of London on Sunday 26 April 2026 was unprecedented.
Kejelcha plays key role
And it also came as something of a surprise because the projected time only went under the previous world record of 2:00:35 (the late Kelvin Kiptum at the Chicago Marathon in 2023) towards the end of the race.
But as Sawe accelerated in the closing stages the two-hour mark suddenly came into view – and he would then blow that away with an incredible sprint finish.
Everything had to be right for history to be made and conditions were essentially good – there was virtually no wind and temperatures weren’t too hot, at least for the men’s elite runners who started at 09:35 local time.
Potentially the most important aspect was the race dynamic as the six big favourites were all together for the first 30km and the pacing was beautifully even.
It was actually a fraction outside world record pace at halfway – but that was far better than going out too fast. It should also be pointed out that the stated aim beforehand for those select pacers in that front group (read more about them here) was to go through halfway in 60:30 and they ticked that off in style with a 60:29.
And the role of Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) shouldn’t be underestimated – and don’t forget he ran 1:59:41 himself! He was making his marathon debut after a sparkling track career and he was the one person who was able to stay with Sawe and push him all the way.
59 minutes for second half
As the figures below show Sawe notched arguably the greatest negative split of all time – 60:29 for the first half and then 59:01 for the second, ramping up the pace all the way to the line.
His fastest 5km section came from km35-40 and yet he was still able to go even quicker for the final couple of kilometres.
| Split | Cumulative time | Split time | min/km | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5K | 00:14:14 | 14:14 | 02:51 | 21.09 |
| 10K | 00:28:35 | 14:21 | 02:53 | 20.91 |
| 15K | 00:43:10 | 14:35 | 02:55 | 20.57 |
| 20K | 00:57:21 | 14:11 | 02:51 | 21.15 |
| Half | 01:00:29 | 03:08 | 02:52 | 21.04 |
| 25K | 01:11:41 | 11:12 | 02:53 | 20.89 |
| 30K | 01:26:03 | 14:22 | 02:53 | 20.90 |
| 35K | 01:39:57 | 13:54 | 02:47 | 21.57 |
| 40K | 01:53:39 | 13:42 | 02:45 | 21.89 |
| Finish | 01:59:30 | 05:51 | 02:40 | 22.48 |
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