Historic moment as East African marathon runners redefine the sport and shatter records : NPR

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya crosses the finish line to win the men’s race at the London Marathon, April 27, 2025.

Alberto Pezzali/AP

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Alberto Pezzali/AP

NAIROBI, Kenya — East Africa woke up to a new marathon era on Monday after Kenyan Sabastian Sawe made history by becoming the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours at the London Marathon. He clocked 1:59:30, breaking the previous world record.

Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia, running his first marathon, finished second in 1:59:41. Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo finished third in 2:00:28, seven seconds faster than the previous world record set by the late Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023.

The barrier didn’t just fall: East Africa tore it down, then kept running.

In Kenya, the reaction quickly shifted from celebration to national pride. President William Ruto said Sawe had “redrawn the limits of human endurance”.

“Your triumph places you firmly among the greats of world athletics and reaffirms Kenya as an enduring force at the pinnacle of distance running,” the president wrote on his X account.

For Sawe, London produced one of the fastest and quietest climbs in marathon history.

Sawe, 31, is from Kapsabet, in Kenya’s Rift Valley running belt, the same high-altitude region that has produced generations of distance running champions. But unlike Eliud Kipchoge, he did not arrive in London as the global face of sport. His rise has been quieter – built almost entirely on results.

He won Valencia in 2024 in 2:02:05, then London, then Berlin, then returned to London to defend his title by doing what no man had done in a record-eligible marathon.

The results were all the more striking as Sawe’s preparation was far from perfect. He had been injured throughout the autumn and only started training properly again in January – and even then, in February, the aim was simply to defend his London title, not to rewrite history. Four months later, he broke the marathon’s most famous barrier.

Sawe trains at high altitude in western Kenya. He has previously spoken of being inspired by his uncle, former Ugandan Olympian Abraham Chepkirwod, and by a teacher who told him that running was not only a talent, but also his fortune and his future.

In London, Sawe turned what Kipchoge had shown was possible into an official world record. Kipchoge broke two hours in 2019 in a controlled challenge, with rotating pacemakers, but the time was not eligible for a record. Sawe did it in open competition, on one of the biggest stages in marathoning.

“I feel good. I’m so happy. It’s an unforgettable day for me,” Sawe told the BBC shortly after crossing the finish line. “We started the race well. As the end of the race approached, I felt strong. As I finally reached the finish line, I saw the time and was so excited.”

Kenyan sports journalist Lynn Wachira, who followed Sawe’s rise, said part of the shock was because a world record had not been the dominant conversation before the race.

“It wasn’t a conversation before the London Marathon,” she said. “It’s like, oh my God. Like what? Who saw that coming?”

But Sawe was only the first part of the story.

Kejelcha’s second place finish was also extraordinary by any normal standard. The Ethiopian was making his marathon debut. In almost any other race in history, a time of 1:59:41 would have made him headlines. In London, somehow, it only made him second.

Kejelcha is not new to elite distance running. He is one of Ethiopia’s most versatile runners, a track and road specialist who set the indoor mile world record in 2019 and went on to break the half marathon world record in Valencia in 2024.

Then came Kiplimo. At 25, the Ugandan is already one of the most successful long-distance runners of his generation, with bronze medals at the Olympics and World Championships and titles at the Commonwealth Games. He built his name across cross country, track and road. In London he ran 2:00:28, a time short of Kiptum’s old world record, while finishing third.

Wachira called it mind-boggling.

“Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda was literally inside the previous world record. How crazy is that?” she said. “Yomif Kejelcha, who is new to marathoning, runs a marathon under two hours, but only finishes on the podium and doesn’t actually win the race. That’s why it’s mind-boggling. It’s crazy.”

There were record-breaking moments in the women’s race too, as Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa bettered her own women’s world record, edging out Kenyan rivals Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei in a thrilling finish to retain her title in 2:15:41.

For Kenya, Sawe’s victory looks like a succession. Paul Tergat helped define the country’s marathon identity. Kipchoge transformed the event into a philosophy of human possibilities. Kiptum pushed the official record to the two-hour limit before his death in 2024.

Sawe has now crossed the line that Kiptum seemed destined to cross.

But the London podium broadened the meaning of the moment. It was Ethiopia that showed Kejelcha can transition from track and road running to marathon running with immediate strength. It was Uganda, through Kiplimo, that showed that it is no longer just a cross-country and track power, but also a serious marathon nation.

For East Africa, it was more than just another dominant day of distance running. It was a regional demand for the future of the marathon.

The limits of human endurance are always being rewritten. East Africa, for now, holds the pen and shows no signs of giving it up.