Sabastian Sawe believes it is only a matter of time before he runs a marathon in one hour and 58 minutes after his superb sub-two hour performance in London on Sunday.
Sawe ran 1hr 59min 30sec to break the world record by 65sec and the 31-year-old Kenyan confirmed that he plans to race again in the autumn, although he has not decided where.
It will probably be in Berlin, which is a faster course than London, in September. When Sawe was asked whether he agreed with his coach, Claudio Berardelli, that 1:58 was possible in his next race, he smiled. “It’s only a matter of time. If you have good starting preparation for any race, then to achieve anything is possible.
“I started running back in primary school. But I mostly focus on studies first. But in my mind, I knew one day I will be a champion and it came true. Because finally, I’m a champion.”
Sawe said he had been so focused on racing Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha that he had no idea he was on course to run under two hours until near the finish.
“It was competitive, because Kejelcha was with me. We were patrolling each other. It wasn’t like, let’s see the time. I only realised I was running two hours when finishing the race. It was near the finish line when I saw the time and I was so excited and tried to push and I did it.
“For sure, racing with Yomif made a difference. What I did yesterday, it’s because of him. He tried his best and I tried my best. We pushed to our limits and we ran sub-two.”
Sawe conceded that while his legs were “a little bit sore” after his monumental effort, his head was clear because he turned down the chance to mark his achievement with a sponsor’s bottle of champagne.
“I didn’t drink anything to celebrate, just water,” said Sawe, who is teetotal. “I ate rice and a piece of chicken for dinner. It was very simple.”
Sawe was due to fly back to Nairobi on a Kenya Airways flight on Monday evening, but because of his world record went to Germany and the headquarters of his sponsors, Adidas, to celebrate.
Sawe thanked them for paying the Athletics Integrity Unit $50,000 a year to ensure he is drug tested more, which he hopes will make people trust his performances.
“We came up with this idea, and I really like it, because doping has become a cancer in my country,” he said. “And we said – from the management of my company, my coaches and also the whole group – we must get rid of doubts for individual results.
“The AIU agreed to start the process and everything goes well. I think it makes me feel comfortable in athletics, because no one’s doubting Sabastian Sawe. I would like my fellow athletes to follow me and to show the world that we can run fast and clean.”
The records continue to fall as it was confirmed the London Marathon had set an all-time best for the number of finishers in a marathon, with a total of 59,830 beating the 59,226 who completed the New York race in November 2025.
The event director, Hugh Brasher, said he was proud to have made sporting and marathon history, as he hailed Sawe’s performance. “It was just a historic day for the sport of athletics,” he said.
“It is absolutely one of the boundaries that a lot of people said they wouldn’t see in their lifetime. You try and put the greatest athletes together. You try to look after them. And you put that concoction together. And sometimes it just works.”
Brasher believes it was right to draw comparisons with Sawe’s sub-two hour marathon and Sir Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile, which his father, Chris, was part of, in 1954. “It’s just beautiful that 72 years on from Sir Roger Bannister and my dad pacemaking we had a day that makes me really proud of what the team have put together.
“I told them afterwards to open a bottle of champagne. Whatever you do, just remember it. Don’t let it pass you by. Because what the athletes have done is redefining the possible.”