History was made at the 2026 London Marathon when two men finished the 42km marathon in less than two hours, a feat long considered impossible.
Kenya's Sabastian Sawe and Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha achieved a breakthrough comparable to Sir Roger Bannister's sub-four-minute mile in 1954.
Sawe smashed the men’s world record with a time of 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. Kejelcha crossed the line in 1:59:41. Even third-place finisher Jacob Kiplimo broke the previous world record.
Sawe's training reportedly involved running up to 240km a week, a high volume crucial for elite marathon performance. Nutrition was also optimized, with Sawe consuming an average of 115g of carbohydrate per hour during the race through drinks and gels.
Physiologically, these athletes possess exceptional oxygen intake and utilization, sustained high capacity, and superior running economy. Advanced footwear, like Adidas’ Adios Pro Evo 3, likely contributed by enhancing running economy by about 4 percent.
The convergence of exceptional physiology, rigorous training, advanced footwear, optimized fueling, and near-ideal weather conditions created a perfect storm for this historic achievement.