Kenyan marathon runner Sabastian Sawe, known as the 'silent assassin', has set his sights on breaking the world marathon record at the London Marathon on Sunday. The record, set by Kelvin Kiptum in 2023, stands at two hours and 35 seconds. Sawe believes he is in similar shape to when he challenged the record in Berlin last September, only to be thwarted by high temperatures.
Sawe will be equipped with Adidas's new Pro Evo 3 supershoe, weighing just 96 grams, which he claims is faster than its predecessor. When asked whether the shoe could help him break Kiptum's course record of 2:01:25 or the world record, Sawe simply replied, 'Yes,' drawing laughter from the press.
Although the London course is not as fast as Berlin or Chicago, Sawe's agent, Eric Lilot, revealed that the pacemakers will aim for a halfway time of 60 minutes and 30 seconds. Forecast tailwinds in the final miles could also aid his quest. Sawe's coach, Claudio Berardelli, confirmed that Sawe has fully recovered from a stress fracture in his foot and a back injury that sidelined him for ten days in December.
Sawe faces stiff competition from a star-studded field, including Jacob Kiplimo, who shattered the half-marathon world record last month, Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, and debutant Yomif Kejelcha. Kiplimo, who finished second to Sawe in London last year, has increased his mileage and vowed to battle for the win. British interest is dampened by the withdrawal of Emile Cairess due to injury, but Patrick Dever, Phil Sesemann, and Mohamed Mohamed will compete.
In the women's race, defending champion Tigst Assefa and Olympic bronze medallist Hellen Obiri are expected to lead, with Joyciline Jepkosgei also in contention.
