PV Sindhu remembers dear friend after Sebastian Sawe smashes marathon world record
PV Sindhu hailed Sebastian Sawe after he became the first athlete to run an official sub-two-hour marathon in London. Her reaction also remembered Kelvin Kiptum, linking Sawe's record to a dream long seen as unreachable.
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu was left in awe after Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe rewrote distance running history at the 2026 London Marathon, becoming the first athlete to break the two-hour barrier in official race conditions. Sawe clocked a stunning 1:59:30, shattering the previous world record and redefining what was once thought impossible.
Reacting to the moment on X, Sindhu called the feat “mind blowing” and reflected on how long the sub-two-hour barrier had stood as an almost impossible target.
“For decades the sub-2 hour marathon felt almost impossible. Today Sebastian Sawe ran 1:59:30. The ceiling of human endurance just moved... Completely mind blowing. And somehow it gets even crazier. Yomif Kejelcha ran 1:59:41 in his debut... Two human beings under two hours in one race.”
Sindhu also paid an emotional tribute to late Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum, whose mark of 2:00:35 from 2023 had stood as the benchmark until now.
“And I can’t help but think of Kelvin Kiptum, my dear friend. Somewhere above I hope he’s smiling and dancing tonight... He was meant to chase this moment. Today Sebastian Sawe finished the dream.”
Kiptum had set the previous record at the Chicago Marathon in 2023 before his tragic death in a car accident shortly after his achievement was officially ratified.
WHO IS SEBASTIAN SAWE?
Sebastian Sawe, a 30-year-old Kenyan long-distance runner, has now produced one of the greatest performances in marathon history. His 1:59:30 in London did not just break the previous world record of 2:00:35 by 65 seconds, it made him the first athlete to officially run a sub-two-hour marathon in race conditions.
The scale of the performance becomes clearer with context. Sawe averaged roughly 2 minutes 50 seconds per kilometre across the 42.195 km distance, maintaining elite pace without a drop through the race. His split consistency and finishing kick set him apart in a field that itself was historic.
This was also one of the rare races where multiple records fell together. Yomif Kejelcha clocked 1:59:41 in his marathon debut, becoming the second-fastest man ever, while Jacob Kiplimo’s 2:00:28 made him the third-fastest in history. All three runners went past the previous world record, underlining the magnitude of Sawe’s run.