Sabastian Sawe made history in the London Marathon on Sunday, becoming the first person to run an official marathon in under two hours. The 31-year-old Kenyan crossed the finish line in one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, shattering the previous world record of 2:00.35 set by Kelvin Kiptum.
Sawe's performance was described as an act of serene beauty and supreme destruction. He ran the second half of the race in just over 59 minutes, and his time was also 10 seconds faster than Eliud Kipchoge's unofficial best set in Vienna in 2019, which did not count under World Athletics rules due to pacing assistance.
Two other runners also finished under Kiptum's old world time: Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who was 11 seconds back in his debut marathon, and Jacob Kiplimo, who ran 2:00.28. Sawe's victory earned him more than $1m (£740,000) in prize money, appearance fees and bonuses.
Sawe grew up in a remote Kenyan village with mud walls and no electricity. A teacher forced him to compete, telling him running was his fortune and future. He joined the 2Running group under Italian coach Claudio Berardelli in his mid-20s, where he began to excel.
Questions about doping have arisen given Kenya's chequered history, but Sawe's sponsors, Adidas, have paid $50,000 to the Athletics Integrity Unit for extensive testing this year to demonstrate he is clean.
