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Sawe Breaks 2-Hour Barrier, Adidas Shoes Spark 2% Share Rise

4/27/2026

24 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

Sawe Wins

Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon in 1:59:30 on 26 April 2026.
Yomif Kejelcha placed second in 1:59:41, also wearing Adidas shoes.
Tigist Assefa set a women-only record of 2:15:41 in the same shoes.
Adidas shares rose 2 % in mid-morning trading after the win, while the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoes weigh 97 g, cost $500 (£369), and boost economy 1.6 %.

Summary

Sawe Sets Record

Adidas will pay the Athletics Integrity Unit $50,000 (£37,000) each year for additional drug testing of Sawe’s results.
President William Ruto praised Sawe, saying he “redrew the limits of human endurance.”
The London Marathon recorded 59,830 finishers, a new participation record surpassing the previous 59,226.
Sawe, the son of a maize farmer from Kapsabet in Kenya’s Rift Valley, trains at high altitude.

History

Historical Context

In December 2016 Nike secured Eliud Kipchoge, Zersenay Tadese and Lelisa Desisa to chase a sub-two-hour marathon, leading to the Breaking2 trial in May 2017 and Kipchoge’s 1:59:40.2 Ineos Challenge in Vienna on 12 October 2019. Building on that breakthrough, Sebastian Sawe ran 1:59:30 in April 2026 wearing Adidas’ 97-g shoes, prompting heightened oversight from Kenya’s government athletics authorities.

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Sawe Wins

Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon in 1:59:30 on 26 April 2026.
Yomif Kejelcha placed second in 1:59:41, also wearing Adidas shoes.
Tigist Assefa set a women-only record of 2:15:41 in the same shoes.
Adidas shares rose 2 % in mid-morning trading after the win, while the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoes weigh 97 g, cost $500 (£369), and boost economy 1.6 %.

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