World record holder Sabastian Sawe to defend Berlin Marathon title in September

Sawe became the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours in legal conditions last month Alex Davidson/Getty Images Share articleSabastian Sawe will race the Berlin Marathon on September 27 after becoming the first athlete to run the distance in under two hours in legal conditions last month. The Kenyan ran a 1:59:30s record time at the London Marathon on April 26, a race in which runner-up Yomif Kejelcha also ran 1:59 and third-placed Jacob Kiplimo went quicker than the pre-existing world record (2:00:35s by Kelvin Kiptum in October 2023). Sawe, 31, defended his title in the British capital — the first man to do so since Eliud Kipchoge in 2019 — and has announced he will head to Berlin in four months time to try and repeat the feat there. Last September in Berlin, Sawe ran a blistering 2:02:16s in hot conditions to win the race almost four minutes ahead of Japan’s Akira Akasaki. “After my victory ​in London and my sub-two-hour performance, I can only say ​that I will — as always — prepare as well as possible, come to Berlin to honour this great event and the organisation that invited ​me, and aim to run as well and as ​fast as I can,” Sawe said in a press release on Wednesday. The expectations are that he targets an improvement to his world record, with coach Claudio Beradelli believing 1:58 is possible in the near future. “Anything is possible, it’s a matter of time,” he told The Athletic after his London triumph, when asked if such a time was realistic. Historically Berlin has been the place for exceptional men’s marathons, with a fast and flat route and typically reliable weather conditions. Nine world records have been set there since 1998 including five times by four different Kenyan men in the past 15 years. The course record of 2:01:19s is owned by Kipchoge, which was a world-record run in 2022. This will be marathon number five four Sawe, who has a 100 per cent record at major races. He intends to continue racing in Adidas’ Pro Evo 3, the most responsive and lightest super shoe ever made (at 97 grams), while the long-term dream is Olympic gold at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms