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 achievement has drawn comparisons to Sir Roger Bannister's sub-four-minute mile and Usain Bolt's 100m world record. He ran the second half of the race in just over 59 minutes, with a stunning 5km split of 13:42 between kilometres 35 and 40.
Two other runners also finished under Kiptum's old record: Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha, who ran 2:00.41 in his debut marathon, and Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo, who clocked 2:00.28. Kejelcha led until the 41km mark but said his body 'stopped' and he could not keep pace with Sawe.
Sawe, who grew up in a remote village with mud walls and no electricity, was encouraged by a teacher who told him running was his fortune and future. He joined the 2Running group in his mid-20s and has since become a world record holder. Insiders say he earned more than $1m from the victory.
Questions about doping have been raised given Kenya's history, but Sawe's sponsor Adidas has paid the Athletics Integrity Unit $50,000 for extensive testing. Sawe himself said: 'I have shown that nothing is not possible.'
