Sabastian Sawe stepped off a Kenya Airways flight in Nairobi on Wednesday and into the kind of celebration his country usually reserves for Olympic gold medalists. His plane received a water cannon salute as it taxied to the gate at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Inside the terminal, his parents, drummers, dancers and Kenya’s sports minister waited to drape him in a wreath of woven twigs.
Sawe had earned the reception. On Sunday in London, he became the first runner to finish a competitive marathon in under two hours, crossing the line in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. The time lowered the men’s world record by 65 seconds, the AP reported. The previous mark, 2:00:35, had been set in 2023 by his late countryman Kelvin Kiptum.
“I am happy about this good day, that you came to celebrate with me. I did not expect it,” Sawe told the crowd at the airport, in remarks reported by the BBC.
A Defining Moment, Says President Ruto
A day after the airport reception, Sawe travelled to a more formal welcome with President William Ruto. The president called the run “a defining moment in the history of human endurance” and presented Sawe with a car along with roughly $61,000.
Sawe gave the president an autographed Adidas Adizero, the shoe he wore in London, and signed a photograph of the moment he broke the record, the AP reported.
Sports Minister Salim Mvurya, who had met Sawe at the airport, described the result as “a win for Kenya.”
Asked by the Associated Press about what comes next, Sawe was already looking past the record. He said he was proud to have “made a great achievement in life” and that he planned to “try and lower the record further.”
The Family Watched From Six Hours Away
For Sawe’s parents, the record was both a shock and a vindication. The BBC reported that they drove six hours from their home village to be at the airport, but they nearly missed the race itself.
Sawe’s mother, Emily Sawe, told the AP that her son’s speed was obvious from the time he could walk. “He would run too fast. So, I would say to myself, this boy will shine for me one day,” she said.
His father, Simion Kiplagat Sawe, ended up watching the London broadcast at his brother’s house because the picture at home would not come in. He said he could not bring himself to watch the finish.
“The moment my son pulled in front, I walked out and didn’t see him finish the race. I watched the replay afterwards. I was so happy, extremely happy. We screamed so much that now it is hard to swallow anything,” he said.
Speaking earlier to the BBC from the family home, Simion Sawe said the result was years in the making. “He used to tell me that one day, he was going to break the record. He was so determined and hopeful that he would,” he said.
Emily Sawe told Kenya’s The Star newspaper that she could not sit still as her son pulled away. “I was very happy, I thanked God. I was jumping around the house. I just did not know what to do,” she said.
The parents also told The Star that their son had promised to change daily life at home. “We will not walk on foot anymore; we will use a car. He promised us that. We shall also fly abroad,” they said.
A Long Road From a Village Without Electricity
Sawe was born on March 16, 1996, in a remote highland village in western Kenya that, according to The Star, did not have electricity. He was introduced to professional running by his uncle, Abraham Chepkirwok, who ran the 800 meters for Uganda at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A schoolteacher, the family has said, told the young Sawe that “running is not just talent – it’s your fortune and your future.”
He still trains at altitude in western Kenya. The Star reported that he shares a room at camp and only sees his wife and son about twice a month.
His marathon record reads four starts and four wins. He took Valencia in 2024 in 2:02:05, then won London for the first time last year and returned to the British capital this year as the defending champion. His next race is expected in the fall.
The discipline that produced the record seems to be feeding the next one already. As his father said, “Even now, he still says that record was not enough; he wants to lower it further.”
