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    Sabastian Sawe (1:59:30) from Kenya and Yomif Kejelcha (1:59:41) from Ethiopia became the 1st and the 2nd humans in history to run a legal marathon in under 2 hours.
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    Sabastian Sawe (1:59:30) from Kenya and Yomif Kejelcha (1:59:41) from Ethiopia became the 1st and the 2nd humans in history to run a legal marathon in under 2 hours.


    They achieved this feat at the London Marathon 2026 today.



    Posted by GiveMeSomeSunshine3

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    22 Comments

    1. jyw104 on

      Shout out also to Tigst Assefa who beat the women’s-only WR today with a time of 2:15:41.

    2. Own-Animator-7526 on

      [https://www.letsrun.com/news/2026/04/15930-sabastian-sawe-shatters-the-2-hour-barrier-at-2026-london-marathon/](https://www.letsrun.com/news/2026/04/15930-sabastian-sawe-shatters-the-2-hour-barrier-at-2026-london-marathon/)

      >*Sawe’s record is also notable for the fact that he did so while undergoing voluntary enhanced out-of-competition drug testing by the Athletics Integrity Unit in the run-up to the race. His sponsor adidas is spending $50,000 per year to cover the cost of Sawe’s additional testing.*

      [https://www.wsj.com/sports/sabastian-sawe-london-marathon-world-record-08a842d8](https://www.wsj.com/sports/sabastian-sawe-london-marathon-world-record-08a842d8)

      >*The blistering finishes in London could spur suspicion, since several marathon runners have been disqualified for doping offenses in recent years. So as Sawe began chasing the world record last year, he took the extraordinary step of undergoing extra drug testing. He underwent 25 out-of-competition tests in the two months before he won the Berlin Marathon last year. That extra testing has continued into this year, his support staff has said.*

    3. GiveMeSomeSunshine3 on

      Shoutout also to Jacob Kiplimo (2:00:28) from Uganda, who finished 3rd in this particular race and also broke the previous world record (2:00:35).

    4. AethelflaedAlive on

      Absolutely extraordinary by Sebastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha. Superhuman stuff and so damn impressive.

    5. nghigaxx on

      Apart from the new shoe, there’s an aggressive pace maker at the start, 2 people close in pace pushing each other trying to win makes this top 2 finish possible.

    6. chris_r1201 on

      Holy hell that’s insane. I remember the inofficial sub 2 hour marathon in Vienna. But there was so much “assistance” like beneficial runner formations to keep air resistance low and a course planned for the record. This is so impressive

    7. neoliberalforsale on

      That’s about 4:33 mile pace. Technically the world record was broken 3 times as the guy who came in third broke it but didn’t break the two hour pace.

    8. OKStamped on

      Psh, I could totally do that in 20 minutes. Mostly because that’s how long it would take the ambulance to complete the course after I collapse a half-mile into the race.

    9. carsonstreetcorner on

      Poor number two vomiting as soon as he crossed the line and in the background of many of the winners shots!!

    13. prettybunbun on

      How fuming would you be if you ran an under 2hr marathon and still came 2nd lol I’d be raging (obvi still a phenomenal achievement)

    16. Equivalent_Willow317 on

      I completely understand why it’s referenced as such (to distinguish it from Eliud Kipchoge’s Vienna challenge) but the concept of a legal marathon, and as such, an illegal marathon, is sending me

    21. Curiosities on

      Wow, that is just another amazing thing humans proved themselves capable of. Like, the training, the work, the practice, all of that matters so much, but seeing it….

      a *marathon* in <2 hours. And two men accomplished that.

    22. thethriftstorian on

      My second favorite part of all of this is that an Ancient Greek legend is still impacting our society 2000+ years later.

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