London Marathon 2026: Kenya's Sawe breaks two-hour world record and Ethiopia's Assefa broke her own women's only world record

Kenyan Sebastian Sawe (pictured) makes history breaking the elite men London Marathon world record under two hours in with 1hr 59min 30sec time.

Sabastian Sawe, 30, has made history as the first person to complete a marathon in under two hours, running time of one hour and 59 minutes. 

Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa (pictured below), broke her own women’s only world record in the elite women category.

Tigst Assefa, 29, has won the women’s race of the London Marathon for a second consecutive year, notching up an impressive finish time of two hours and 15 minutes – beating her previous time by just nine seconds.

Temperatures reach 18C at midday as 59,000 tackle the 26.2-mile race course as participants are advised to stay hydrated ahead of the marathon and wear lightweight clothing.

The mass event set off at Greenwich Park from 9.30am, with marathon organisers hopeful it will be the biggest ever. 

Last year, the event broke the Guinness World Record for the most finishers in a marathon, with 56,640 participants making it to the end.