The marathon's "wall of 2 hours" has been shattered! Sabastian Sawe, with a historic time of 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds... a remarkable 3 runners finished in under 2 hours.

*This content was translated by AI.

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe (30) has rewritten the history of marathon running. He has broken the "wall of 2 hours."

On the 26th (Korean time), Sawe won the men's 2026 London Marathon held in London, UK, by completing the 42.195km full course in 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds.

This is a record that surpassed the previous world record of 2 hours 0 minutes 35 seconds set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in 2023 by more than one minute.

Although Eliud Kipchoge completed the marathon in under 2 hours in 2019, it was an event conducted in a controlled environment and was not recognized as an official record. Sawe became the first athlete to finish under 2 hours in an official competition.

It was an explosive race. Sawe passed the halfway point in 1 hour 0 minutes 29 seconds, showing an early record-breaking pace. As the race progressed into the latter half, he actually increased his speed, finally completing the historic record.

He turned his pre-race boast, "Setting a world record is just a matter of time; I will be the first to finish under 2 hours," into reality.

After the race, Sawe expressed his emotional feelings, saying, "I am truly happy. It is a day I will never forget. My pace was good from the start, and as I got closer to the finish line, I felt my body condition getting better and better." He added, "When I finally arrived at the finish line and checked the watch that recorded the new record, I was truly excited."

This competition was a legendary match that will remain in marathon history. The second-place finisher, Yomif Kejelcha (Ethiopia, 1 hour 59 minutes 41 seconds), also broke the 2nd-hour wall, and the third-place finisher, Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda, 2 hours 0 minutes 28 seconds), also posted a time faster than Kiptum's previous world record.

Meanwhile, in the women's division, Ethiopia's Tigist Assefa set a new women's marathon world record with a time of 2 hours 15 minutes 41 seconds and claimed the top spot.

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*This content was translated by AI.