Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Sabastian Sawe, the Kenyan athlete who officially broke the two-hour marathon barrier with a world record of 1:59:30 in London, has confirmed he will return to the BMW Berlin Marathon on 27 September 2026 to defend his title at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race.
At 31, Sawe took 65 seconds off the previous world record set by Kelvin Kiptum in 2023 and surpassed Eliud Kipchoge’s 2019 exhibition time of 1:59:41. This London race was Sawe’s first since winning the Berlin Marathon in September with a time of 2:02:16, his second-fastest marathon after his 2:02:05 debut in Valencia in 2024.
Sawe said that, following his London victory and sub-two-hour performance, he plans to prepare thoroughly for Berlin to honour the event and aim to run as well and as fast as possible, with the final results to be seen on race day.
The Berlin Marathon is renowned for fast times, having hosted eight consecutive men’s world records from 2003 to 2022. The current course record is Kipchoge’s 2:01:09, set in 2022. Sawe remains unbeaten in his marathon career, winning in Valencia, London, and Berlin with steadily improving times, culminating in his sub-two-hour record.
In the landmark London race, Yomif Kejelcha finished second with a time of 1:59:41, the fastest marathon debut ever and the second-fastest time in history, while Jacob Kiplimo finished third in 2:00:28, both inside the previous world record. Tigst Assefa also successfully defended her title, improving her own women-only world record to 2:15:41.