Sebastian Sawe celebrates [Reuters=Yonhap News]

Sebastian Sawe (Kenya), who became the first human to run a full marathon under two hours, stated, "I felt more energetic as I got closer to the finish line."

Speaking after winning the men's 2026 London Marathon in London, UK, on the 26th (Korean time), Sawe completed the 42.195km full course in a world record time of 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds. He said, "I believe everyone has their time. This race was very important to me, and I prepared diligently. The efforts from my four months of focused training have paid off," he stated.

He added, "Today's achievement is not mine alone, but belongs to everyone who was part of it. I was truly happy when I checked the time after reaching the finish line. I think it will be an unforgettable day," he revealed.

With his performance, Sawe broke the previous world record of 2 hours, 0 minutes, and 35 seconds set by Kelvin Kiptum (Kenya) at the 2023 Chicago Marathon by 1 minute and 5 seconds, becoming the first athlete in human history to achieve the "sub-2" dream of completing a full marathon in under two hours.

Sawe crosses the finish line [EPA=Yonhap News]

Born on March 16, 1996, in the Rift Valley region of Kenya, Sawe was introduced to running in his childhood while being raised by his grandmother.

Like other Kenyan athletes, he trained in high altitudes and grew under the professional guidance of his uncle, who was a former middle-distance runner.

He began to gain recognition by finishing 7th in the men's 10km at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships. He then cemented his status as a world-class athlete by setting the fifth-fastest time in history, 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 5 seconds, at the 2024 Valencia Marathon.

He consecutively won the London Marathon in April last year with a time of 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 27 seconds, and the Berlin Marathon in September with a time of 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 16 seconds.

Given his rapid rise, Sawe has recently voluntarily undergone more than 20 doping tests.

Although Sawe briefly suspended training due to an injury earlier this year, he has significantly improved his condition recently and announced his intention to challenge the world record before this competition.

On this day, Sawe ran with a strategy of increasing his speed in the latter half of the race.

He particularly picked up the pace at the 30km mark and ran the race at an astonishing pace.

The British BBC stated, "On this day, Sawe ran the first half of the course in 1 hour and 29 minutes, and the second half even faster in 59 minutes and 1 second. Only 63 athletes in history have run a half marathon faster than 59 minutes and 1 second. It was an unbelievable second-half performance," they explained.

Specifically, Sawe covered the 30-35km section in 13 minutes and 54 seconds, and the 35-40km section in 13 minutes and 42 seconds. This is a pace of 16.4 seconds per 100 meters.

On this day, Sawe wore ultra-lightweight marathon shoes weighing less than 100 grams, produced by his sponsor.

After the race, he wrote his record on these shoes and posed for photos.