LONDON — In an unimaginable feat in sports, the 2-hour barrier for the marathon has officially been broken.
Not by one runner, but by two runners.
In a race for the ages, Kenya’s Sebastian Savay won the London Marathon on Sunday in 1 hour, 59 minutes, 30 seconds, breaking the previous men’s world record by an astonishing 65 seconds.
“What has come today is not for me alone, but for all of us in London today,” said 29-year-old Sawhney.
Just 11 seconds back was Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, running in his first marathon – he also completed the 26.2-mile course in under 2 hours.
Completing the podium was Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who smashed the previous world-record set by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptom in Chicago at 2023 by seven seconds, finishing in 2:00:28.
In an encouraging scene, Savay ran faster as the marathon progressed, completing the second half of the race in 59:01. He passed Kejelcha after 30 kilometers and made his solo break in the last two kilometres, racing to the end at The Mall to loud cheers.
Savage, who retained his title in London, said it was “a day to remember for me” and thanked the huge crowd who filled the streets of the British capital to witness what could be considered a feat marking the pinnacle of human physical achievement.
“I think they help a lot,” she said, “because if it wasn’t for them you wouldn’t feel as loved as you are. … With them calling, you feel so happy and strong.”
It was done less than two hours ago–unofficially.
Taking a two-hour break in a marathon has been a long time coming — and it’s been done before.
However, when Kenyan long-distance great Eliud Kipchoge accomplished the feat in Vienna in 2019, it was in a specially designed race called the “1.59 Challenge,” arranged by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe under favorable conditions, on a 6-mile circuit and using rotating pacemakers.
This meant that it was not classified as an official race setting, so Kipchoge’s time of 1:59:40 did not go into the record books.
In any case, Sava beat that time by more than 10 seconds on a mostly flat course in dry, sunny conditions across London.
Former London Marathon winner Paula Radcliffe said while commentating the race for the BBC, “The goalposts have literally moved for marathon running itself.”
At the turn of the century, the world best time for the men’s marathon was 2:05:42, set by Khaled Khannouchi in Chicago in 1999.
Khannouchi broke his own record by four seconds in 2002 – the last time the fastest male marathon was run in London – and it has been gradually eclipsed by a succession of Kenyan and Ethiopian runners over the past 24 years, including Haile Gebrselassie, Wilson Kipsang, Kipchoge and most recently Kiptum.
Assefa wins the fastest women’s marathon ever
A record was also set in the women’s race, with Ethiopia’s Tigaste Assefa winning in 2:15:41 with about 500 meters remaining and defending the title in the fastest time ever in a women’s marathon.
This was 16 seconds slower than the course record set by Radcliffe in 2003 when it was a mixed race.
Kenya’s Helen Obiri was second, 12 seconds behind a personal best time in her London debut, and compatriot Joycelyn Jepkosgei was third, two seconds behind. This was the first time that three women ran under 2:16 in a marathon.
“When I finished I screamed because I knew I was breaking the world record,” Assefa said. “Today I feel very healthy and I have worked very hard on my speed and all my training has been successful.”
Swiss double in wheelchair race
In the wheelchair race, there was a Swiss double with Marcel Hug winning his sixth consecutive men’s title – and eighth overall – and Katherine Debrunner defending the title defeating Tatyana McFadden.
