The 2025 London Marathon delivered one of the most groundbreaking moments in distance running history on Sunday, as Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe became the first athlete ever to complete a marathon in under two hours during an officially sanctioned competitive race. The 30-year-old Kenyan champion crossed the finish line on The Mall with a stunning time of 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds, smashing the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in 2023 by more than a full minute.
While Olympic legend Eliud Kipchoge previously ran a sub-two-hour marathon in 2019, that achievement came in a specially staged, controlled exhibition event that did not qualify for official world record status. Sawe’s run on Sunday is the first to hit the historic milestone in open, competitive race conditions.
From the opening kilometers, Sawe stuck to a blistering world record pace, crossing the halfway mark in 1:00:29. Instead of fading in the second half as many long-distance runners do, he accelerated, dropping his split for the final 21.1 kilometers to an incredible 59:01. Sawe made his decisive breakaway before the final 10 kilometers, with only debutant Yomif Kejelcha able to match his surge. In one of the most stunning men’s fields in marathon history, Kejelcha also crossed the line under the two-hour barrier, finishing second in 1:59:41 to become just the second man to hit the mark in official competition. Half marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo rounded out the podium in 2:00:28, a time that also beat Kiptum’s previous world record.
In a post-race interview with BBC TV, an elated Sawe called the day one he would never forget. “I am feeling good. I am so happy. It is a day to remember for me,” he said. “We started the race well. Approaching finishing the race, I was feeling strong. Finally reaching the finish line, I saw the time, and I was so excited.” He also credited the hundreds of thousands of cheering fans lining the London course for pushing him to the historic feat: “That is why I can say what comes for me today is not for me alone but all of us in London.”
Long in pursuit of the record, Sawe, who has won all four marathons he has entered in his professional career, first targeted the world mark at last September’s Berlin Marathon, but unseasonably hot weather derailed his attempt. He had openly stated in pre-race interviews that breaking Kiptum’s world record was “only a matter of time,” and that he hoped he would be the one to become the first to hit the sub-two-hour mark in an official race. To address any questions around the legitimacy of his performance, Sawe has also undergone frequent out-of-competition drug testing, with 25 tests conducted ahead of his Berlin attempt, a step he says he takes to build confidence and trust in his results.
In the women’s elite race, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa delivered another dominant performance to retain her London title, breaking her own world record for a women-only field with a winning time of 2:15:41, nine seconds faster than her previous record set 12 months earlier. The pre-race favorite after Olympic champion Sifan Hassan and world champion Peres Jepchirchir withdrew due to injury, Assefa battled neck-and-neck with Kenyan duo Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei until the closing kilometers, before pulling away to secure the win. Obiri finished second just 12 seconds behind, with Jepkosgei taking third. Britain’s Eilish McColgan was the top British finisher, placing seventh overall in 2:24:51.
In the elite wheelchair races, Swiss athletes continued their reign of dominance at the London Marathon. Marcel Hug claimed a record-equaling eighth title, matching the all-time record set by Great Britain’s David Weir, with his fifth consecutive victory. The 40-year-old crossed the line in 1:24:13, more than four and a half minutes ahead of China’s Luo Xingchuan, with Weir himself taking third in his 27th consecutive start at the event. Catherine Debrunner retained the women’s wheelchair title, her fourth overall victory in London, outrunning America’s Tatyana McFadden to finish just five seconds clear in 1:38:29.
For British athletics, the event also produced a new national milestone: Mahamed Mahamed became the second-fastest British male marathon runner in history, finishing 10th overall in 2:06:14, beating the previous mark set by Alex Yee.