Kenya's Sawe breaks fabled 2-hour marathon barrier

LONDON (AP) — A pair of African distance runners took down what was once among the most unthinkable records in sports on Sunday, shattering the long-unapproachable two-hour barrier in the 26.2-mile marathon.Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, bettering the previous men's world record by 65 seconds. He beat Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha, who was running his first marathon and finished in 1:59.41."What comes today is not for me alone," Sawe said, "but for all of us today in London."Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda came in third, finishing in 2:00.28. That was seven seconds better than the previous world record held by Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum and completed a podium in which all three men broke Kiptum's three-year-old mark.Legend has it that the marathon's distance is the same as the run a Greek soldier made from Marathon to Athens to announce a military victory in ancient times.On a relatively flat London course on a mostly sunny day in the low 60s — ideal for running — Sawe ran a faster second half, covering the second half of the race in 59:01.He and Kejelcha pulled clear after 18.5 miles, then Sawe made his solo break. Fans showered him with loud cheers as he sprinted to the finish on The Mall."I think they help a lot," Sawe said, "because if it was not for them you don't feel like you are so loved... with them calling, you feel so happy and strong."Sawe, who came in as the defending champion in London, said it was a "day to remember for me" and thanked the huge crowds who lined the streets of the British capital to witness one of the greatest performances in a sport that asks a simple question: How fast can a person run?Under two hours has been done before — unofficially.After Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile in 1954, the mark was lowered 18 more times until it reached the current world record: 3:43.13, by Morocco's great runner, Hicham El Guerrouj.The mile has been largely replaced by the 1,500 meters as the main four-lap race in major events. The marathon, however, remains a staple of world-class running and the 2-hour barrier — a nice, even number at a distance that has been around since ancient times — has been in the sights of the world's greatest runners for about the last 20 years.Kenyan long-distance great Eliud Kipchoge did, in fact, break 2 hours in 2019, but it did not go into the record books, as it was a specially tailored race — the "1:59 Challenge" — run in favorable conditions on a 6-mile track with a stable of 41 rotating pacemakers. Kipchoge finished in 1:59.40.Sawe beat that time by 10 seconds on one of the world's less-taxing marathon courses."The goalposts have literally just moved for marathon running," Paula Radcliffe, a former winner of the London Marathon, said during commentary of the race for the BBC.A record also went down in the women's race, with Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa pulling away with to win in 2:15:41 and defend the title in the fastest-ever time in a women's-only marathon.