Sabastian Kimaru Sawe born March 16, 1995, is a Kenyan long-distance runner who made history on April 26, 2026, when he became the first person in history to officially run a marathon in under two hours in a competitive race. Winning the 2026 London Marathon, Sawe shattered the previous world record by over a minute and achieved what many had long considered the last great barrier in athletics, comparable in significance to Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile. He is ranked number one in the world in the men’s marathon by World Athletics.
Sabastian Sawe Profile
| Name | Sabastian Sawe |
| Real Name | Sabastian Kimaru Sawe |
| Date of Birth | 16 March 1995 |
| Age | 31 years |
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Occupation | Long-distance Runner |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Net Worth | $350,000 |
| Copied from | contents101.com |
Educational Background
Like many elite distance runners from Kenya’s Rift Valley, his path to sporting excellence was shaped more by geography, culture, and relentless training than by academic institutions.
Career
Sawe’s breakthrough moment came in March 2022 at the Rome-Ostia Half Marathon, where he was hired as a pacemaker but ended up winning the race. That result, even on a non-record eligible course, signalled to the athletics world that something special was developing. Later that year in September 2022, he set a Kenyan national record in the one-hour run at the Memorial Van Damme meeting in Brussels, covering 21,250 metres in 60 minutes and narrowly missing the world record.
He also set a half-marathon at the Bahrain Royal Night Half Marathon that year. He finished seventh in the senior men’s race at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships, and in December 2023 won the 15km Montferland Run road race in the Netherlands. In September 2024, he won the Copenhagen Half Marathon as well.
On December 1, 2024, Sawe announced himself on the full marathon stage by winning the Valencia Marathon. He followed this up by winning the 2025 London Marathon and then the 2025 Berlin Marathon in September, making him a two-time winner of World Marathon Majors within a single year.
His most extraordinary performance came on April 26, 2026, at the London Marathon, where he crossed the finish line on The Mall in 1:59:30 becoming the first human being to officially run a sub-two-hour marathon in a competitive race. He was chased hard by Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia for much of the race, but Kejelcha faded in the final stretch. The time smashed Kelvin Kiptum’s previous world record of 2:00:35 set at the 2023 Chicago Marathon.
Controversies
Ahead of the 2025 Berlin Marathon, Sabastian Sawe and his management team took the unusual step of voluntarily requesting increased anti-doping monitoring from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). Reports indicated that he underwent multiple unannounced out-of-competition drug tests in the build-up to the race, all of which he passed. The move was widely praised as an effort to demonstrate transparency and protect the credibility of his performances.
Some athletics observers also debated whether his historic sub-two-hour run at the 2026 London Marathon benefited significantly from pacing strategy and race conditions, though there was no suggestion of wrongdoing, as the result was achieved under official competitive marathon rules. Overall, Sawe remains respected as one of the sport’s most disciplined and focused athletes.
Sabastian Sawe Social Media Handle
https://www.instagram.com/sabastiansawe/?hl=en
Personal Life
Sabastian Kimaru Sawe was born in Barsombe, a village in Uasin Gishu County in Kenya’s Rift Valley, the same high-altitude farming region that produced legends like Eliud Kipchoge, the late Kelvin Kiptum, and Faith Kipyegon. The Rift Valley has long been regarded as the cradle of Kenyan long-distance running, with its combination of altitude, terrain, and deep Kalenjin running culture producing generation after generation of world-class athletes.
Sabastian Sawe Net Worth
Sabastian Sawe’s net worth is estimated to be around $350,000.