Sabastian Sawe set for heroic welcome after historic London Marathon world record

Kenya is preparing to roll out the red carpet for marathon sensation Sabastian Sawe following his jaw-dropping world-record performance at the London Marathon.

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According to a statement released by Athletics Kenya (AK) on Tuesday, Sawe is expected back in the country on Wednesday night, 29 April, after storming into history with a stunning time of 1:59:30 in London.

The world-record holder is scheduled to arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) aboard Kenya Airways flight KQ 113 from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, with his arrival expected at 8:35 pm through Terminal 1A.

AK confirmed that the marathon star will be received by federation officials, government representatives and key stakeholders within the athletics fraternity in what is expected to be a colourful reception celebrating one of the greatest moments in the country’s athletics history.

“Athletics Kenya congratulates Sabastian for his inspiring performance and invites media, fans and athletics stakeholders to join us in welcoming our champion back home,” part of the federation’s statement read.

Sawe’s remarkable rise to the summit of marathon running has carried the feel of a script written by fate itself, especially considering that only a few years ago, few could have predicted the heights he would eventually scale.

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Having never competed professionally on the road, the Kenyan initially lined up at the 2022 Seville Half Marathon merely as a pacemaker, but what started as a supporting role quickly transformed into a statement performance after he dropped the entire field within the opening 10 kilometres before racing away to victory in a course-record time.

That performance offered the first real glimpse into the extraordinary engine quietly building beneath the surface.

The signs became even louder during his marathon debut in Valencia in 2024, where he clocked 2:02:05, the second-fastest marathon debut in history at the time and only 12 seconds slower than the late Kelvin Kiptum’s debut mark before Kiptum eventually went on to break the world record in Chicago in 2023.

Still, Sawe’s path to greatness was far from smooth.

Raised largely by his grandmother, the runner moved to Iten in 2017 to pursue his athletics dream, hoping to carve out a future in the country’s famous “Home of Champions.”

Yet despite the reputation surrounding Iten, success initially proved elusive, and there were moments when his ambitions appeared to be slowly slipping through his fingers.

At one point, injuries and race postponements caused by the coronavirus pandemic left him struggling financially and questioning whether his breakthrough would ever arrive.

It was during that difficult period that his uncle, Uganda’s 800m record holder Abraham Chepkirwok, connected him with renowned Italian coach Claudio Berardelli

Berardelli, a highly respected figure within Kenya’s athletics circles, immediately identified Sawe’s potential for marathon running and shifted his focus away from the track.

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The Italian coach has since described him as “a special one,” often pointing to his unique physiological qualities and relentless mentality as key ingredients behind his rise.

What has made Sawe’s latest feat even more astonishing is the adversity he reportedly battled on his way to the record.

The Berlin Marathon Champion is said to have competed in London while still recovering from a stress fracture sustained after the Berlin, while a serious back issue earlier in January nearly derailed his preparations completely and delayed his return to full training until early February.

Yet despite the setbacks, he still produced a performance for the ages on a London course traditionally viewed as slower than marathon-friendly routes such as Berlin and Chicago, making his achievement even more remarkable considering the British capital had not witnessed a men’s marathon world record since 2002.

His run also arrived in a race that turned into one of the greatest marathon spectacles in history.

Debutant Yomif Kejelcha also dipped under the two-hour mark during the race, while half-marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo bettered Kiptum’s former world record.