Tens of millions Sabastian Sawe earned after breaking sub two-hour marathon barrier

Sabastian Sawe has not only rewritten athletics history but also secured a massive financial windfall following his record-shattering performance at the London Marathon on Sunday, 26 April.

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Sawe stunned the world by clocking an astonishing 1:59:30, becoming the first man in history to run a sub-two-hour marathon in an official race.

In the process, he obliterated the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum at the Chicago Marathon in 2023.

Sawe's teammate Brillian Kipkoech stuns Hamburg Marathon field to break course record

The historic feat also saw him successfully defend his London title, having won the 2025 edition in 2:02:27, then the second-fastest time in the race’s history.

Sawe’s groundbreaking run has now earned him a staggering total of approximately Ksh46 million ($355,000).

This includes the standard winner’s prize of about Ksh7.2 million ($55,000), a Ksh19.5 million ($150,000) bonus for running under 2:02:00, Ksh16.2 million ($125,000) for breaking the world record, and an additional Ksh3.2 million ($25,000) for setting a new London course record.

His performance headlined a race that completely redefined marathon running.

Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha also dipped under the historic barrier, clocking 1:59:41 to finish second, becoming the first Ethiopian to achieve the feat, yet still falling short of victory.

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo came third in 2:00:28, slicing seven seconds off the previous world record in what turned out to be one of the greatest marathon races ever run.

For context, Eliud Kipchoge had previously run 1:59:40.2 at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in 2019, becoming the first human to break the two-hour mark.

However, that performance was not ratified as an official world record due to controlled conditions such as rotating pacemakers and a closed course.

Sawe has now done what many thought impossible.

He burst onto the global stage at the Valencia Marathon in 2024, winning in 2:02:05, the second-fastest debut in history behind Kiptum’s 2:01:53.

Kipchoge joins the world in hailing Sabastian Sawe's sub two-hour marathon record in London

He followed it up with victory at the 2025 London Marathon and later triumphed at the Berlin Marathon in 2:02:16, narrowly missing out on the world record then.

Beyond his performances, Sawe has also taken deliberate steps to reinforce his credibility in a sport under increasing scrutiny.

Ahead of his Berlin Marathon campaign, he underwent 25 out-of-competition tests conducted by the Athletics Integrity Unit, showing his commitment to clean sport.