London Marathon 2026: Sawe's 1:59:30 and how Kenya's runners finished
Sabastian Sawe won the men's race in a time reported as a world record. Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei completed the women's podium.
In short: Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the London Marathon on 26 April 2026 in 1:59:30, a time reported as a world record and the first sub-two-hour marathon in a race. Kenya also took second and third in the women's race.
Sabastian Sawe won the men's elite race at the London Marathon 2026 in 1:59:30. NBC Sports and LetsRun both report the time as a world record. Pimeys has not yet confirmed ratification by World Athletics, so it is labelled as reported on our result pages until it is.
Sawe finished 11 seconds ahead of Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha (1:59:41). Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo was third in 2:00:28. Amos Kipruto was the second Kenyan home, fourth in 2:01:39.
The women's race
Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa won the women's elite race in 2:15:41, reported as a women's-only world record. Hellen Obiri was second in 2:15:53 and Joyciline Jepkosgei third in 2:15:55, two seconds behind. Catherine Amanang'ole was fifth in 2:21:20.
Sources and status
The top three in both races are confirmed by two independent publications. Fourth and fifth places come from one source and will be checked against the organiser's official results.