A historic moment in the world of athletics. For the first time, a person officially ran a marathon under the two-hour mark. This happened in London, where Sebastian Saue triumphed with an incredible time of 1:59:30. So far, the only person to break this barrier was Eliud Kipchoge, who in 2019 in Vienna achieved 1:59:41, but in unofficial conditions with special assistance.
Now, however, the record is completely legitimate and marks a new era in sports. Saue, trained by the Italian Claudio Berardelli, solidified his status as an exceptional talent with the fourth victory out of four marathons in his career.
His achievement was not isolated. Yomif Kadzhelcha also broke the two-hour mark in his debut at the distance - 1:59:41. Jacob Kiplimo finished third in 2:00:28, also better than the previous world record of the late Kelvin Kiptum (2:00:35).
The conditions in the British capital also helped - temperatures around 12-15 degrees and modern technology, including ultralight shoes, contributed to the historic breakthrough. There was also an impressive achievement in the women's race, where Tigst Assefa won in 2:15:41, a world record in a women-only race.