2025 London Marathon: Sabastian Sawe Makes a Statement with Dominant 2:02:27 Victory

LONDON — The London Marathon finish line sits just 200 meters away from Buckingham Palace, and over the years it has witnessed several marathon coronations. It was here in 2015 that Eliud Kipchoge sprinted away from world record holders Dennis Kimetto and Wilson Kipsang to usher in an unprecedented era of marathon dominance. And it was here, eight years later, where Kelvin Kiptum brought an end to Kipchoge’s reign, usurping the throne by running a negative-split 2:01:25 to destroy Kipchoge’s course record.

London may have seen its latest crowning moment on Sunday when 30-year-old Kenyan Sabastian Sawe made his case as the new King of the Marathon by winning the 2025 edition in 2:02:27. Sawe’s crucial blow came during the 20th mile, where he unleashed an unofficial 4:16 split to separate from Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, half marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo, 13-time major champion Eliud Kipchoge, and the rest of one of the strongest marathon fields ever assembled. Kiplimo would hold on best to finish 2nd in his debut in 2:03:37, with Alexander Mutiso (2:04:20) outsprinting Abdi Nageeye (2:04:20) for 3rd. Tola (5th in 2:04:42) and Kipchoge (6th in 2:05:25) rounded out the star-studded top six.

Major marathon mile splits can be finicky (Sawe’s devastating 13:56 5k split from 30-35k is more a reliable marker), and crowning a World #1 in the marathon is not an exact science, either. Sawe’s countryman John Korir, coming off victories in Chicago in October and Boston on Monday, has his own case for #1.

Kevin Morris photo

But at this moment, Sawe looks a worthy successor to Kipchoge and Kiptum, whose reign was tragically cut short by a fatal car accident in February 2024.

Consider these stats about Sawe:

• His debut win in Valencia in December was the fastest time in the world in 2024 and 2nd-fastest debut in history (Kiptum’s 2:01:53 debut in Valencia in 2022 leads the way).
• Sawe’s 2:02:27 time today is second-fastest time ever run in London, behind Kiptum’s 2:01:25.
• Sawe’s winning margin of 70 seconds today was the second-largest since 2012 (again, Kiptum’s 2023 race, which he won by 3:08, is the outlier here).
• Just like Kiptum in 2023, Sawe put the hammer down just past 30 kilometers, bypassing the elite fluid station to slam on the gas and break the nine-man lead pack almost immediately. Within two minutes, he had 50 meters on the rest of the field, and he would go on to split 13:56 from 30-35k and 28:16 from 30-40k (he split 34:40 from 30k to the finish, or 1:59:56 marathon pace).

On a sunny day that started out nice for marathoning (55 degrees, 1 mph wind at start) but grew warm (low-60s) by the finish, Sawe was the only one of the 10 men who passed halfway in 61:30 to record a negative split (61:30-60:57). Again, it brought to mind that race from two years ago, when Kiptum was the only top competitor in the men’s and women’s elite races to record a negative split.

We seem to be mentioning that Kiptum race a lot — a testament to Sawe’s brilliance that the best comparison for his performance today is one of the greatest marathons ever run.

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Sabastian Sawe is here to stay

Before the race, Sawe’s coach Claudio Berardelli offered glowing praise of his star pupil, saying, “I’ve done this job for 21 years. I’m not sure I’ve ever coached a guy like him.” Quite a statement from a man who has coached multi-time major champions Evans Chebet, Martin Lel, and Benson Kipruto.

Today, you saw why Berardelli was so confident. Sawe, the 2023 world half marathon champion, has now run two marathons in his life: 2:02:05 in Valencia in December (second-fastest debut ever, #5 on all-time list) and 2:02:27 in London (second-fastest ever in London), joining Kipchoge and Kiptum as the only men ever to break 2:03 more than once. Racing against one of the best fields in marathon history, which included the reigning champions from London, Berlin, New York, and the Olympics plus the half marathon world record holder in Kiplimo, Sawe showed he is on a completely different level, putting 70 seconds on the field over the final 12k.

All of the other studs, save for Sawe, slowed in the second half as the pacers dropped out and the temperature rose, but it’s not as if they all just blew up. Indeed, few marathons in history have ever featured a more credentialed top six — all of them, save debutant Kiplimo, have won a major marathon within the last two years, and the group accounts for the last three Olympic gold medals. Sawe took on the best and crushed them all. He took the lead at 16 miles, but waited until the 30k drinks station to make his move, catching a few runners off guard by skipping his bottle and slamming on the accelerator.

“I saw that it was my opportunity to push,” Sawe said.

Sawe is 30 years old but is still relatively new to the elite level of the sport; he only really emerged on the scene in 2022, when he ran 26:49 for 10k and 58:02 for the half on the roads at age 27. Sawe said that was becaue he did not run full-time until graduating in 2015 and did not join Berardelli’s training group until 2020 (more on Sawe’s background here).

It’s tempting to crown Sawe as the definitive World #1 — he would be my pick right now — but that would not be fair to John Korir, who just won Boston on Monday with a similarly dominant move. Sawe’s killer split was his 4:16 20th mile, which would be the fastest ever run in a marathon — but let’s see if that holds up. Unlike 5k splits, which are recorded using timing mats, mile splits are hand-taken from officials on the course, and the mile markers can sometimes be placed incorrectly (when Yalemzerf Yehualaw won London in 2022, her 24th mile was initially reported as 4:43 but later adjusted to 4:59). But considering Sawe put 21 seconds on some of the best marathoners in the world in just one mile, it’s not ludicrous to suggest he actually ran a 4:16, or something close to it.

Sawe’s move today was very similar to the one Korir made in Boston six days ago, when he put 18 seconds on the field during mile 21. Korir only split 4:40 for that one, but it was a massively uphill mile that included Heartbreak Hill. Factoring in the climbing, we calculated it was worth around 4:20, not far off what Sawe did today. The difference is that while Korir wound up slowing late (his lead shrunk from 59 seconds at 40k to just 19 at the finish), Sawe did not relent and wound up winning by 70 seconds.

As a result, I’d give the edge to Sawe when it comes to crowning a new World #1. But there’s an easier way to settle it. Let’s just have them race each other this fall.

Jacob Kiplimo impresses in debut

Unlike countryman Joshua Cheptegei, who has struggled in his transition to the marathon, Jacob Kiplimo ran very nicely in his 26.2-mile debut. Content to hang near the back of the lead pack for most of the race, Kiplimo could not respond to Sawe’s big move but finished a convincing second in a Ugandan record of 2:03:37.

“I’m so excited about what I did today,” Kiplimo said. “…I think my body was okay from the start to 30k. Then I started feeling a little bit cramps in the leg, but I keep just pushing.”

Obviously the perfect debut would have been winning the race, but finishing second against a great field, behind only the guy who might be the best in the world right now is the next-best thing. Clearly Kiplimo, who is still just 24 years old, is going to be a major player in the marathon moving forward, though he said he would have to talk to his coach and manager to determine when he will race his next one.

Eliud Kipchoge pleased to finish 6th and continues to spread the gospel of running

The last time Eliud Kipchoge finished 6th in a marathon, two years ago in Boston, Kipchoge was upset and did not speak to media immediately after the race. When he did talk the following day, he stubbornly doubled down on his decisions to not to alter his training for Boston hills and to lead the first half into a headwind. Clearly, Kipchoge had difficulty processing the failure, and you can understand why. Over the previous nine years, Kipchoge had been virtually invincible, losing just one marathon (the wet COVID edition of London in 2020) while winning back-to-back Olympic golds, setting two world records, and becoming the first human under 2:00 for 26.2 miles. To go from marathon god to sixth place is a humbling experience.

The Kipchoge that finished 6th today struck a very different tone after the race. After struggling in Tokyo (10th) and the Olympics (DNF) in 2024, he appears to have accepted that, at 40 years old and in his 13th year of running marathons (and 23rd year as a professional runner), he is no longer the athlete he once was. It still feels a little odd to finally see him declining, because Kipchoge’s reign atop the marathon was so much longer than anyone who preceded him.  But for most runners, clocking 2:05:25 at age 40 (some believe Kipchoge to be even older than that) is an impressive feat, and it should be viewed as such for Kipchoge too.

And this was not your normal sixth-place performance. There has probably never been a more credentialed top six in marathoning history. All of the major players, save perhaps Berlin champ Milkesa Mengesha (10th in 2:09:01), showed up today and ran well.

1st – Sabastian Sawe – 2:02:27 – The 2nd fastest debut marathoner ran the 2nd fastest time in London history.
2nd – Jacob Kiplimo – 2:03:37 – The half marathoner world record holder took 2nd in his debut.
3rd – Alexander Mutiso – 2:04:20 – The defending champ rebounded well from after a 21st place showing in the Olympics.
4th – Abdi Nageeye – 2:04:20 – The 2024 Rotterdam and NYC champ ran a Dutch record at age 36.
5th – Tamirat Tola – 2:04:42 – The reigning Olympic champ broke 2:05 for the 8th time in his career
6th – Eliud Kipchoge – 2:05:25 – Kipchoge didn’t break the masters world record (Bekele ran 2:04:15 at 2024 London) but ran a solid race.

Kipchoge still wants to be competitive, but he has embraced his role as an ambassador for the sport, encouraging the world to join him in road races around the world. Given his accomplishments, his wisdom, and his spirit, there is no one better-suited to the role.

“I’m happy with the performance,” Kipchoge said. “I’m happy with 6th place…I’m happy with what I am doing. I’m here not to prove to anybody in this world anything at all, but to run with the Olympic spirit…I am here to support the movement of running.”

Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee runs 2:11:08 after struggling late

Yee came into the race hoping to run in the 2:07-2:09 range, and for much of the day, he was on pace to do just that. He passed halfway in 64:19 and as late as 35k was on pace for 2:09:58. But Yee couldn’t quite hold on, splitting 16:04 from 30-35k and 16:15 from 35k-40k (his two slowest 5ks of the race) to slip to 2:11:08 by the finish.

Given the warm conditions, it was not a bad run, and Yee still manage to finish as the second Brit with only 2024 Olympian Mahamed Mahamed (9th in 2:08:52) finishing ahead of him.

Talk about 2025 London on our world-famous messageboard:

• Official 2025 London Marathon Live Discussion Thread Sawe and Assefa are your champs.
• Sabastian MF Sawe He used a 4:18 20th mile to take the lead and won by more than a minute
• Sawe’s backstory?
• Kipchoge post-London Interview
• Jakob vs triathlete Alex Yee in a marathon: who wins? Yee ran 2:11:08 after going out in 64:19.
• What will sirpoc84 run in London?
• The Trials and Tribulations of Running YouTubers
• London Marathon – YouTubers Getting Destroyed
• Cole MF Gibbens
• Eliud Kipchoge will win the London Marathon He didn’t win but ran respectably, finishing 6th in 2:05:25
• Alex Maier WINS Dusseldorf Marathon in 2:08:33