Sebastian Sebu of Kenya became the first runner to complete a marathon in under two hours, winning the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds on Sunday.
The time eclipsed the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon by 65 seconds. Sebu, who had already won marathons in Valencia, Berlin and London in 2025, entered the race as the world’s fastest marathoner for both 2024 and 2025.
He was not alone in breaking the barrier. Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, running his debut marathon, finished second in 1:59:41, becoming the first runner to break two hours in a first attempt. Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo took third in 2:00:28, also dipping under Kiptum’s former mark.
The sub-two-hour performances came on a course that has long been central to the pursuit. Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40.2 in Vienna in 2019, but that effort was not eligible for world record recognition due to the use of rotating pacers and other non-standard conditions. Sunday’s London Marathon, by contrast, met all World Athletics criteria for record eligibility.
Sebu’s strategy unfolded in stages. He and five others passed the halfway mark in 1:00:29, then he accelerated over the final 2.195 kilometers, sustaining an average pace of 4:17 per mile. That closing surge allowed him to pull clear of a tightly packed lead group.
In the women’s race, Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia defended her title with a time of 2:15:41, breaking her own world record for a women-only race. She pulled away from Hellen Obiri of Kenya in the final 385 yards, winning by 12 seconds. The time remains 16 seconds slower than Paula Radcliffe’s mixed-gender course record from 2003.
The achievement arrives amid a broader trend of advancing times driven in part by shoe technology. Between 2018 and 2023, seven marathons were run between 2:00:35 and 2:02:00, showing how close the barrier had become before Sebu’s breakthrough.
Looking ahead, the next World Marathon Major takes place in Sydney on August 30, 2026. Sydney joined the series in 2025, becoming the seventh annual major marathon.
Was Sebu’s time officially recognized as a world record?
Yes, because the London Marathon met all World Athletics criteria for record eligibility, including standardized pacing, course measurement and anti-doping protocols, unlike Kipchoge’s 2019 Vienna run.
How did Sebu’s closing kilometers compare to the rest of the race?
He ran the final 2.195 kilometers at an average pace of 4:17 per mile after sharing the halfway point in 1:00:29 with five other runners, indicating a decisive acceleration in the closing stages.
Why is Kejelcha’s second-place finish notable?
As a debut marathoner, his time of 1:59:41 not only broke the two-hour barrier but also surpassed the previous debut record of 2:01:53 set by Kiptum in 2022.
What does this mean for the future of marathon running?
With multiple runners breaking two hours in the same race and shoe technology continuing to evolve, the barrier may no longer be seen as a singular limit but as a threshold increasingly within reach of elite athletes under standard race conditions.
