Sabastian Sawe, the first man to run the marathon in less than two hours

Kenyan Sabastian Sawe became the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours in London on Sunday to retain his title ahead of Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha and Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo.

Sawe, 29, crossed the finish line in front of Buckingham Palace after 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, smashing Kelvin Kiptum's old world record of 2 hours, 1 minute and 25 seconds in April 2023, less than a year before his car crash.

Second-place finisher Kejelcha (1:59:41) also finished the 26.2 miles in less than two hours, a more remarkable feat considering the half-marathon specialist was running the premier distance for the first time.

Kiplimo (2:00:28), who finished second last year in his first marathon, also recorded a better time than the one set by Kiptum three years ago.

Sawe was leading a group of six runners when he surged just before the 19-mile mark.

Only Kejelcha managed to stay with him, with Kiplimo a few meters behind. The podium finish is now marathon history.