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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Esther Addley

The two-hour marathon is done – but other records remain to be broken

Sabastian Sawe celebrates beside the Tag Heuer race clock showing his official time of 01:59:30
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya made his historic London marathon effort look like a parkrun. Photograph: David Cliff for London Marathon Events/Shutterstock

Bad news for anyone who secretly fancies themselves every time they lace up their trainers: the two-hour marathon record has gone. Sabastian Sawe’s astonishing effort at the London marathon on Sunday – cruising across the finish line on the Mall in 1hr 59m 30s like a man who has just jogged a parkrun – shattered a record long seen as beyond human capability.

“They said it couldn’t be done!” roared BBC commentator Steve Cram. And then, 11 seconds later, Yomif Kejelcha did it too – and he’d never even run a marathon before.

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