Sabastian Sawe, 31, maintained a blistering pace and clinched the April 26 race in a record time of 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, becoming the first human to run the 26.2-mile distance in under two hours in an official marathon.
He made his marathon debut in 2024, in Valencia, Spain, winning the city’s marathon with a time of 2:02:05.
His win drew wild celebrations across Kenya, the East African nation referred to as the home of long-distance running, where athletes have dominated distance racing for decades.