Sabastian Sawe: How a Kenyan marathoner shocked the world

A sub-two-hour marathon was one athletic frontier that had not been conquered for such a long time, that it had become something of a myth. 

Long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge had scaled the summit in Vienna in 2019, but his feat was not made official due to him running under controlled circumstances.

Four years later, his late compatriot Kelvin Kiptum would set the marathon world record at the Chicago Marathon with a timing of 2:00:35, nearly becoming the first to breach the improbable sub-two-hour mark.

On Sunday, the summit that was once considered impossible to scale was finally conquered at the London Marathon as Sabastian Sawe went past the finish line, making history with a timing of 1:59:30, beating Kiptum’s record by over a minute.

In an article titled ‘The Myth Of The Sub-2-Hour Marathon’, Robert Johnson, a distance running coach and co-founder of LetsRun.com, offered a strong argument on why athletes are not even close to achieving the magical number without the help of “undetectable drugs”.

“Despite the dumb mainstream press articles of a sub-2-hour marathon, the fact of the matter is humans aren’t close to doing it (without the help of some undetectable drugs),” Johnson wrote in the piece.

"With perfect conditions and a perfect course and a tiny negative split, humans pretty much right now are capable of running the marathon in about 2:03:30 – the world record is 2:03:38 for a reason,” he added, mentioning the world record at the time that was set by Kenya’s Patrick Makau in 2011.

Johnson, who has served as a track and field coach at the Cornell University, had compared the progression of records in the 5,000 and 10,000-metre events from the 1990s till the time of the article being published.

“At the start of 1994, the 5,000 world record was 12:58.39. By the end of 1997, it was 12:39.74. Now, more than 15 years later, it’s only improved to 12:37.35,” Johnson continued.

"Similarly, in the marathon, in the decade from Khalid Khannouchi‘s 2:05:38 in 2002 to Patrick Makau‘s 2:03:38 in 2011, the marathon improved a lot. But I don’t expect the world record to move much from where it is now,” he added.

But on Sunday, as the world watched with bated breath, Sabastian Sawe stormed his way into the global headlines, knocking down the skepticism, launching himself into the annals of history and breaking a record that had, for decades, consumed the minds of analysts, experts and marathon enthusiasts.

Stunned, the World Athletics X account wrote: "We’re going to need a few days to recover from this one…2 men under 2 hours. 3 men breaking the world record. We have officially entered the new era of marathon running."

Sabastian Sawe suddenly became the biggest topic across the globe, dominating headlines, lighting up the internet, switching conversations and rocking the world of athletics in ways never seen before.

Having never competed on the road, Sawe began the 2022 Seville half-marathon as a pacemaker, proceeding to drop everybody within the first 10km, and carrying on to claim victory in a course record time.

Running the second-fastest marathon debut in history in Valencia in 2024, Sawe again hinted at his potential.

And on that perfect April morning on Sunday, he rattled the universe with the stunning shocker - sporting immortality, secured in 1:59:30.

At the finish line, that momentous occasion blew up fast, with sports journalists scrambling to make sense of what just happened, as they watched, cameras flicking away, microphones rattling on, too stunned, too amazed and too bewildered to properly report.

Others searched for the words to pay an appropriate tribute to an accomplishment once considered impossible.

"Nobody thought that a sub-two-hour marathon under World Athletics conditions would be done in their lifetime," London Marathon race director Hugh Brasher told BBC Sport.

"This is an unbelievable day for sport. It is sport and history in the making."

Former women's marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe said: "We've witnessed history being made, but it is more than that. It is an iconic barrier that there has been this discussion over for a long time about whether it is even possible."

Speaking to BBC Sport 24 hours after making history, Sawe said the time came as a surprise even to him, with his focus primarily on retaining his title.

"It was not in my mind. I was well prepared for this year's London Marathon, but what comes surprised me because I was not thinking to run a world record," he said. 

"It was possible to run faster yesterday," he added. "Even 1:58 is possible."

This indefatigable son of Iten, who obliterated Kiptum's world record by 65 seconds, would go on to achieve his world record in London despite suffering a stress fracture in his foot in Berlin, while a back issue which left him almost giving up in January delayed his preparations until early February.

At the finish line, a triumphant Sawe held up sponsors Adidas' latest 'supershoe' with his time written along the side, acknowledging the technology which had assisted him.

On his sweat-dripped face, it was the countenance of incredible success, unthinkable feat and breathtaking awe, as the cameras flickered on, capturing an athletic rockstar, a man of near immortal proportions.

To achieve that, Sawe reportedly took on 115g of carbohydrates per hour during the race, following a breakfast consisting of two slices of bread with honey and tea.

And determined to prove he was competing clean, Adidas provided $50,000 (Ksh. 6.4 million) to the Athletics Integrity Unit, the sport's anti-doping body, to frequently test Sawe over a 12-month period.

His was not just a sporting milestone, but a physiological boundary – one many researchers believed was nearly impossible to overcome under standard race conditions.

Breaking the two-hour barrier requires operating close to the body's aerobic limits, meaning that Sawe, like all elite marathoners, had to sustain speeds near his maximal oxygen uptake for nearly two hours.

To attain that, Sawe required not only exceptional cardiovascular capacity, but also precise pacing strategies, environmental conditions and sheer willpower, ultimately launching himself into the books of history.

From across Europe to the Americas, his face was splashed across major newspapers, the world gawking at this new racing god, a 31-year old Kenyan track superstar.

He was on the front page of the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Mirror, The Paper, The Daily Telegraph, The Times and more. 

The Guardian bombastically wrote: "History Man: The greatest sporting feat of the century?"

While The Mirror simply wrote: "Marathon Marvel!"

While running the 42.195km of a marathon is viewed by many as an achievement in itself, Sawe’s manner of victory in London shows the superhuman effort it took to break the world record.

His average time in the race was 2 minutes 49.9 seconds per kilometre, as he raced through the streets of England’s capital at an average speed of 21.2km/hr.

It was a phenomenally marvellous race, one peppered with astounding grit and jaw-dropping dexterity.

His arrival back home was just as momentous, as he recieved a hero's welcome at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), being received at the airport by Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya, Sports Principal Secretary Elijah Mwangi and Athletics Kenya president Jackson Tuwei, alongside other government officials and athletics stakeholders.

Under heavy security, as fans, journalists and airport officials jammed to get a closer look, the soft-spoken superstar expressed his thoughts, elated at having achieved this improbable feat.

"I am very happy because this victory has shown me that I had the ability. I have been training hard, so I had thoughts about the record, but I did not expect to break it this early,” Sawe said.

"For everything we were able to do there in London, I didn't do it alone, I did it because of all of us and I would like us to enjoy it all and this is our record, all of us."

Truly, a star is born. May he flourish, may he thrive, may he advance and may he unthinkably, even unhumanly, prosper.