Sebastian Sawe Set for Berlin Marathon After Breaking 2-Hour Barrier

Kenyan marathoner Sabastian Sawe, the first athlete to officially break the two-hour barrier in the marathon, has confirmed he will compete in the BMW Berlin Marathon on September 27, 2026. The announcement, made on May 13, 2026, marks Sawe’s return to the World Athletics Platinum Label road race to defend his title.

Sawe enters the upcoming race following a historic performance in London in April 2026, where he set a new world record of 1:59:30. This achievement made him the first runner to officially complete a marathon in under two hours, surpassing the previous world record set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023 by 65 seconds. Sawe’s time also exceeded the 1:59:41 exhibition performance recorded by Eliud Kipchoge in 2019.

An Unbeaten Career Trajectory

Sawe remains unbeaten throughout his marathon career. His ascent to the world record began with his marathon debut in Valencia in 2024, where he won with a time of 2:02:05. He followed this victory in April 2025 by winning the London Marathon in 2:02:27.

In September 2025, Sawe won the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:02:16, which at the time was the second-fastest performance of his career. He then capped his recent run of victories by retaining his title in London in April 2026 with his world-record-breaking sub-two-hour run.

Objectives for the Berlin Defense

While Sawe has not specified a target time for the September race, he expressed his commitment to high-level preparation for the event.

“I am very happy to return to the BMW Berlin Marathon this year and to defend my title. Many people may be wondering what my goals are this time. After coming off my win in London and sub-2 performance, I can only say that, like always, I plan to prepare myself to the best of my ability and to come to Berlin to honour this great event and organisation which has invited me, and to run as well and fast as possible. Then, on the day, we will see what will happen.”Sabastian Sawe to event organisers

The Significance of the Berlin Course

The Berlin Marathon is recognized as one of the fastest courses globally. Between 2003 and 2022, eight consecutive men’s world records were established at the event. The current course record is held by Eliud Kipchoge, who ran 2:01:09 in 2022.

Given the course’s history of record-breaking performances and Sawe’s current status as the world record holder, the September 27 race is positioned as a primary focal point for international distance running.