PV Sindhu stunned by Sabastian Sawe’s sub-2 hour marathon feat, remembers 'dear friend' Kelvin Kiptum

Indian badminton star PV Sindhu shared an emotional reaction after Kenya's Sabastian Sawe made history at the 2026 London Marathon by becoming the first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon in official race conditions. Sawe clocked 01:59:30 to break the previous world record.

Taking to social media, Sindhu described the moment as "mind blowing" and said that the ceiling of human endurance has now been pushed to a new level. She highlighted how the sub-two-hour barrier had felt almost impossible for decades, but Sawe’s achievement has now changed that forever.

Sindhu was also amazed by the performance of Yomif Kejelcha, who finished second and also went under the two-hour mark in his marathon debut with a time of 01:59:41. She called it incredible that two athletes managed to achieve such a historic feat in the same race.

Sindhu remembers her late friend

Sindhu also remembered late Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum, calling him a dear friend. She hoped he was "smiling and dancing" somewhere, adding that he was meant to chase this moment and that Sawe had now completed that dream. Kiptum held the record for the fastest marathon time after he clocked 2:00:35 in 2023.

More from Sports

Kiptum, who achieved the feat in the 2023 Chicago Marathon, died in a car accident while travelling with his coach Gervais Hakizimana in Kenya just five days after his record was ratified.

The race also saw Jacob Kiplimo finish third with a time of 02:00:28, faster than the old world record, showing the incredible level of competition. In the women’s race, Tigst Assefa defended her title and broke her own women’s-only world record by 9 seconds.