Freshly-minted London Marathon champion, Sabastian Sawe, has attributed his awe-inspiring victory in London Marathon to rigorous training and never-say-die attitude in races.
Running only his second marathon race on Sunday since winning the 2024 Valencia Marathon in December, 29-year-old Sawe, who is the reigning world half marathon champion, took charge of the men’s competition at the 30km mark and engaged a higher gear which he maintained to the end.
Sawe competed against the clock for the better part of the second half of the race, and ran unchallenged to win in two hours, 02 minutes and 27 seconds.
Afterwards, Sawe said he was well prepared for the race, which made things easier for him.
“So happy, this is my first time to win a major marathon, I was well prepared for this race, and that’s why it has become easy for me to win,” Sawe said.
Sunday's race was the first World Marathon Majors event that Sawe ran, and he hopes victory in the streets of London will open more opportunities for him.
“It does now give me hope that my marathoning future will be so important to me, and it will be so easy to me,” Sawe, who won 2024 Valencia Marathon in 2:o2:05, said after the race.
Kenya's Sabastian Sawe celebrates on the podium with a trophy after winning the men's elite race at the London Marathon on April 27, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
The World Marathon Majors is a series of seven of the world’s most prestigious races. They are Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon, New York Marathon, and Sydney Marathon which joins the club this year.
Sawe’s time of 2:02:05 from victory in Valencia Marathon last year made him the second fastest athlete in yesterday’s race, and he took the moment to introduce himself to the world in style, giving Kenya’s marathon selectors something to think about as days tick closer to the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
Sawe who trains under the 2Running Athletics Club in Kapsabet in Nandi County under coach Claudio Baradelli, took charge of the race with 12 kilometres to go to win with in the second fastest time this season.
The two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge, who was eying his fifth London Marathon victory, settled for sixth 2:05:25.
“Sawe is a natural talent that just needs to be guided in understanding his potential. He has a natural instinct in understanding his body and his limits,” said Baradell.
He termed Sawe ‘a special talent’ since he has the capacity to remain super humble despite the success.
“I look forward to seeing what he might be capable of in the near future,” said the coach, adding that they will in a few days decide their next race.
Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa (left) and Kenya's Sabastian Sawe celebrate on the podium with a trophy after winning the men's and women's elite races at the London Marathon on April 27, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
He relegated half marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda to second place. Kiplimo, who was making his marathon debut, finished second in 2:03:37.
Defending champion Alexander Mutiso from Kenya edged out Abdi Nageeye from the Netherlands in a thrilling photo-finish to claim third place time of 2:04:20.
Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia came in fifth in 2:04:52 as the two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge, who was eying his fifth London Marathon victory, finished sixth 2:05:25.
Ethiopia's Milkesa Megesha and Timothy Kiplagat from Kenya lead through 5kms and 10kms in 14:25 and 28:57 respectively with a projected finish time of 2:02.
Then Kipchoge, the four-time winner in London, led the pack of nine athletes through 15km in 43.36.
In the women's race, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa dropped Kenya’s Joycline Jepkosgei after 35 kilometres to claim her maiden London Marathon in women-only world record time of 2:15:50.
Assefa, who finished second in the marathon in both 2024 London Marathon and 2024 Paris Olympics last year, got her third World Marathon Majors victory, having triumphed in Berlin Marathon in 2022 and in 2023.
Assefa shattered the women-only record of 2:16:16 held by Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir from her victory in London last year.
London Marathon winner Tigst Assefa (left) of Ethiopia celebrates with second-placed Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya after the race on April 27, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
Jepkosgei, the winner in London in 2021, came second in 2:18:43 as Sifan Hassan, the 2023 champion, settled for third place in 2:18:59.
It’s at the 2023 Berlin Marathon where the 28-year-old Assefa set a new marathon world record in 2:11:53.
Jepkosgei, the 2021 champion and 2022 silver medallist, led the pack of four that included Hassan, who is also the Olympic champion, through 5km in 15:34 minutes.
Assefa, who lost in the London and Paris Marathon last year, took charge at 10km in 31:16 minutes but Jepkosgei took the initiative through 15km in 47:11 with a projected finish in 2:12.
However, Alemu Megertu of Ethiopia dropped from the pack leaving it a three-horse race up front but Hassan dropped like 30m off the pace before re-joining the fray.
Assefa and Jepkosgei went toe-to-toe over the Tower Bridge and at halfway mark in 1:06:40 with Hassan 10 seconds (70m) off the pace with one pacesetter Reline Cathrine Amanang’ole staying with them. Jepkosgei and Assefa turned on the screw, cruising through 25km in 1:19:14 as Hassan fell further 26 seconds off the pace with the pacesetter giving way.
Kenya’s other representative Vivian Cheruiyot, came fifth.
