That’s how Sabastian Sawe broke the two-hour ghost mark.
– He is a silent assassin. He is a very quiet man but when he hits the road he is a beast.
That’s how the Kenyan marathon runner described it Sabastian Sawen31, competition manager Eric Lilot In an interview with The Guardian.
– Yes, Sawe answered the question asked at the press conference before the London marathon, whether he has a chance to break the By Kelvin Kiptum WE 2.00.35.
The runner didn’t talk warmly. The ME that exploded in Chicago in 2023 broke down on the streets of the island nation’s capital and at the same time broke the two-hour mark that was considered magical.
– Kiptum’s pace distribution has been a nightmare for men who have attempted ME since then: he pulled the second half a minute harder than the first. It was incomprehensible, and spoke of Kiptum’s abilities, Iltalehti’s athletics expert begins Arto Bryggare.
– Before Sunday, Sawe had chased ME twice, but both times he held back. On Sunday, he must have thought that he had to be clearly ahead of Kiptum’s time at the halfway point, that he would crash. That’s what happened. It was a man and a mission, the expert adds.
The new ME for the men’s marathon is 1:59:30.
– At no point did I believe in the record. I bet that the pickup will come like in Berlin last fall.
Sunday’s race was downright incredible, because in addition to Sawe, Ethiopia Yomif Kejelcha (1.59.41) and Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo (2.00.28) rushed below the old ME.
– In London, there was a really strong coverage of the world’s top marathoners – like at the Olympics. Sometimes it happens that a tough guy doesn’t run for time, but takes the measure of the man and only competes for the win, Bryggare explains.
– Sawe’s performance was fantastic, and Kejelcha helped him to the record by staying with him during the very difficult 35-41 kilometers, explains the expert.
The winner’s Intermediate time in the half distance on Sunday was 01.00.29
Legendary
Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha (left), Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe and Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo all swept under the old ME. EPA / AOP
On Sunday, the Kenyan completed only the fourth marathon meeting the standards of the International Association of Athletics Federations of his career. The debut took place in Valencia in December 2024, when the clock stopped at 2:02:05.
Last season, the man sped up a good 42 kilometers in London in 2.02.27 and in Berlin in 2.02.16.
– He achieved a truly legendary performance when the first number of the ME time of the marathon changed from second to first. In the sport, it is necessary to perform very hard this season for someone to win the Athletics Act of the Year ahead of Sawen ME.
Sawe has won all four of his marathons.
– He runs with a nice step and is a good-sized guy for a marathon. Eliud Kipchoge is an eternal great runner, Kiptum would have become one and Sawe is on his way to becoming an eternal great runner, says Bryggare.
– It will be interesting to see where he and Kejelcha, who ran the first marathon of his career, will compete next time. Kejelcha’s starting money will at least double from London when everyone wants him for the next race.
Sawe probably became a millionaire with his merits.
Help with shoes
Sabastian Sawe presented his record running shoe. ZumaWire / MVPHOTOS
In September 2011 in Berlin, a Kenyan Patrick Makau ran the marathon for the ME time of 2.03.38. In fifteen years, the record has improved by a good four minutes. That’s quite a lot.
A significant factor in this is the development of shoe technology, when thick-soled “spring shoes” have come into use for road runners. They reduce the shock from the runner’s base to the body and, as it were, roll forward. Of course, “spring shoes” require getting used to and possibly a change in running style in order to get the optimal benefit.
Bryggare describes that the importance of footwear development to the improvement of road running results has been “huge”.
– Even 50 years ago, it was thought that runners should feel as if they were barefoot. The spike and the running shoe had to be like a glove, so the soles were really thin. Now it can be said that that way of thinking was complete nonsense.
Sawe raced his Sunday record in Adidas’ Pro Evo 3 running shoes. One shoe weighs 96 grams.
– Carbon fiber and other manufacturing materials are constantly looking for new features and a competitive advantage. There is a huge competition between different manufacturers.
The running route in London is not the fastest in the world, so to speak, because there is a total of 124 meters of ascent.
In other major marathons, the climb in Tokyo is 60, in Berlin 73, in Chicago 74, in New York 247, in Boston 248 and in Sydney 317 meters.
On Sunday in London, the runners were helped by a tailwind during the latter half of the race.
Another ME
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa won the London Marathon. EPA / AOP
A new women’s world record was run at the London Marathon on Sunday in the so-called women-only series.
Ethiopian Tigst Assefa stopped the clocks in 2:15:41. The woman’s previous record of 2:15:50 was a year ago.
– Assefa didn’t run close to the maximum, but only to win. It was one of his worst marathons, at least time-wise. Sergei Bubka taught track and field athletes to improve their record one cent at a time to get the bonus money time and time again.
The women-only series does not include male hares, but there are female hares.
In the statistics of the International Association of Athletics Federations (WA), the official ME 2.09.56 for the women’s marathon is By Ruth Chepngetich. The result was born in Chicago in 2024. Chepngetich gave a positive doping sample in March 2025 and was later suspended for three years.
Under the women-only series ME, a total of ten women have raced the marathon with the help of men. Assefa’s record is 2.11.53.
– Assefa has the capabilities to run significantly harder than on Sunday.
