Overview
- Sawe, who finished the London Marathon in 1:59:30 on Sunday, became the first athlete to complete an official 26.2-mile race in under two hours.
- In Nairobi he received a wreath, dancers and state honors, as President William Ruto awarded $61,000 and a car and called the run comparable to the first moon landing.
- He bettered fellow Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 mark by 65 seconds, extending the country’s grip on the event after Kiptum’s death in a 2024 car crash.
- Sawe told the Associated Press he will take a short break, then try to lower the time and race another marathon later this year in a location he will set with his coaches.
- He credited high-altitude training in Kenya’s Rift Valley of 200–240 kilometers a week, a 97-gram racing shoe and a simple pre-race meal of two honey sandwiches and tea.