Sabastian Sawe soared away from the greatest ever men’s marathon field to keep the coveted TCS London Marathon elite men’s crown in Kenyan hands with a commanding display of road running reminiscent of compatriot Eliud Kipchoge in his masterful prime.
The 30-year-old decimated a 10-strong pack over the final stages, leaving some of the world’s fastest ever runners floundering in his wake as he surged to victory in 2:02:27, the second quickest ever over the London course and 10 seconds inside four-time champion Kipchoge’s London best.
Sawe duly added the London Marathon gold to the Valencia title he took in December 2024, with the unfancied man completing a hugely impressive five-month double of sub-2:03 times on his Abbott World Marathon Majors debut.
It was the fourth successive Kenyan victory in the men’s race and the 19th by a Kenyan man in London’s 45-year history.
A former world half marathon champion, Sawe produced a negative split of 60:58 after passing half way in 61:30. Such a swift second half was simply too much for the rest, including Jacob Kiplimo, the world half marathon record holder, who had to be satisfied with second on his full marathon debut in 2:03:37.
Alex Mutiso, the defending champion, completed an African sweep of the podium, the Kenyan getting the photo-finish verdict after a sprint down The Mall with Dutchman Abdi Nageeye, the pair both clocking 2:04:20.
As for Eliud Kipchoge, the double Olympic gold medallist was sixth, less than a minute behind the 2024 Paris Olympic champion, Tamirat Tola, who was Ethiopia’s first man home.
“I'm very happy with that,” said Kipchoge. “I'm 40 so it was no problem at all, that's sport. I don't need to prove anything to anyone.”
Sawe was satisfied too. “It means so much,” he said after crossing the Finish Line. “I was very confident because I came in well prepared, and that got me through today.”
That confidence was apparent from the start as Sawe settled in unruffled among an elite group of 10 with Kipchoge prominent among them alongside Mutiso, Tola, and the much-fancied debutant Kiplimo.
Kipchoge looked in trademark metronomic form, his eyes fixed on the heels of the pacers, a mirror of his masterful displays over these roads when he dominated the London Marathon between 2015 and 2019. At 40, the former world record holder knew he was facing a tough battle against a cohort of young, hungry runners happy for now to shadow the marathoner widely regarded as the greatest ever as he made a determined bid to regain his London crown after a five-year absence from the race.
No one was hungrier than Sawe who cruised beside Kipchoge alongside Tola, while Kiplimo was biding his time at the back of the group, the world half marathon record holder content to feel his way into uncharted territory.
Amanal Petros made the first significant move shortly after halfway, passed in 61:30 by the leading pack, a few clips outside their ambitious target of 61:00. The German stretched the 10-man group into a line before the easy-looking Sawe led them through 25K and round the Isle of Dogs loop towards Canary Wharf.
At this point it was still all to play for, although it was soon clear Kipchoge wasn’t going to be a player this time, road running’s elder statesman finally slipping from contention as Sawe surged away at 30K.
The London first-timer tactfully ignored his drink at the feed station and within a flash had powered down the road, destroying the pack and leaving his struggling challengers adrift.
The ever-composed Kenyan clipped off a 5K split of 13:56 to 35K, strode along the Embankment in glorious isolation with his rivals out of shot in the distant background. He passed the landmark sights of Parliament Square and Buckingham Palace with barely a glance behind, and cruised under the gantry with more than a minute to spare.
“I tried to close the gap,” said the rueful Kiplimo. “But, wow, my legs were really tired.”
There was a welcome marathon debut for Britain’s triathlon star Alex Yee too, as the Paris Olympic gold medallist was the second Briton home in 14th, clocking 2:11:08. Mahamed Mahamed took the British title, placing ninth in 2:08:52.