Sabastian Sawe was given a hero’s welcome in Nairobi on Thursday, April 30, after the Kenyan ran a historic sub-two-hour marathon in London on Sunday.
The 31-year-old set the new record after crossing the line in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds.
Sawe was given a check for 8 million Kenyan shillings ($62,000) and personalised licensed plates with the numbers marking his finishing time. In return, the athlete presented Kenya’s President William Ruto with the shoes he wore for the race.
“What comes today is not for me alone, but for all of us today in London,” Sawe said after the race.
Sawe ran the second half of the marathon in 59 minutes and 1 second, faster than his first half.
“I think they help a lot,” Sawe said of the crowd. “because if it was not for them you don’t feel like you are so loved … with them calling, you feel so happy and strong.”
The marathon distance is 26.2 miles.
Runners have targeted the two-hour mark for more than 20 years. In 2019, Kenya’s Eliud Kipoche ran 1:59:40 in an unofficial attempt called the “1:59 Challenge”, held under specially tailored conditions with 41 rotating pacemakers.
Credit: William Samoei Ruto via Storyful.
