Sabastian Sawe Smashes London Marathon in Under Two Hours
In a performance that has stunned the world of athletics, Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe has become the first person to finish an official marathon in under two hours. Crossing the finish line at the London Marathon in 1:59:30, the 31-year-old took 65 seconds off the previous world record held by the late Kelvin Kiptum.
The achievement was an unexpected milestone for Sawe, whose primary goal was to defend his title. Speaking to BBC Sport, he admitted: "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."
The London Marathon course is traditionally considered slower than those in Berlin or Chicago, making the sub-two-hour feat even more remarkable. Race director Hugh Brasher emphasized the magnitude of the moment: "Nobody thought that a sub-two-hour marathon under World Athletics conditions would be done in their lifetime."
Sawe’s historic run was achieved while wearing Adidas’ latest innovation, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3. Weighing in at an average of just 97 grams, the shoe is 30% lighter than its predecessor and utilizes next-generation "Lightstrike Pro Evo" foam alongside new ENERGYGRIM carbon technology.
The successful debut of the shoe, which Tigst Assefa also wore to break her own women-only world record, has provided Adidas a major victory over its long-time rival, Nike. Industry experts have noted that Nike has struggled with innovation recently, allowing brands like Adidas to capture more of the elite running market.
Patrick Nava, general manager at Adidas Running, celebrated the result, stating: "The Adidas family is incredibly proud of Sabastian and Tigst's historic achievements."
Given the recent history of high-profile doping scandals within Kenyan athletics, Sawe was determined to ensure his performance was viewed as legitimate. To build trust, he and Adidas provided $50,000 to the Athletics Integrity Unit to conduct frequent testing over the last year.
"It's very important to me because it gets out the doubt in my career of athletics and yesterday's performance," Sawe said of the extra scrutiny. "It shows Sabastian Sawe is clean. It shows running clean is good, and we can run clean and we can run faster."
While the technology and fueling strategies, including taking 115g of carbohydrates per hour, undoubtedly played a role, Sawe credits his grueling regimen of 200km of training per week at altitude as the real engine behind his success. With coach Claudio Berardelli insisting that Sawe has yet to reach his full potential, the sporting world is now waiting to see just how fast he can truly go.
