Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe, who last month became the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours, will attempt to improve on his record at the Berlin Marathon in September.
Organizers announced on Wednesday that the 31-year-old, who clocked 1:59:30 at the London Marathon, will return to competition on September 27 to defend his Berlin title.
The Berlin Marathon’s flat course is widely regarded as one of the fastest in the world, with nine men’s world records set there between 1998 and 2022.
Sawe won the 2025 Berlin Marathon in 2:02:16, the fastest time recorded that year, despite temperatures reaching 25°C. However, fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge still holds the course record after running 2:01:09 in 2022, a performance that also set a world record at the time.
Organizers say the 2026 Berlin Marathon is expected to attract nearly 60,000 runners from about 160 countries.
