Sabastian Sawe made history on the morning of April 26, 2026, when he crossed the finish line in a time of 1:59:30 at the 2026 London Marathon. Sawe, a 31-year-old from Kenya, became the first person to ever run under 2 hours for a marathon ... officially .

The term “officially” is important here. Sawe isn’t the first runner to break the 2-hour barrier for 26.2 miles. That distinction belongs to Eliud Kipchoge , the most decorated—and arguably the greatest—marathoner to ever live.

In 2019, Kipchoge, 34 on race day, ran 1:59:40 at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in a tree-shaded park in Vienna, Austria. At the time, it was the fastest marathon ever run. But it didn’t count as a world record. That’s because standard competition rules for pacing and fluids were not followed.

An “unofficial” record

Kipchoge was paced by an alternating group of seven pacemakers stationed around him.…