A Star is Here: Sabastian Sawe Out-Runs 2 Olympic Champs at London Marathon

He didn’t have the accolades coming in, but they run the race for a reason.

With the help of a 4:18 20th mile, Sabastian Sawe laid waste to a field of two Olympic marathon champions and a 56-minute half marathoner to win the star-studded 2025 London Marathon.

Unlike the women’s race which thinned out early, the men’s race in London was crowded until late, with ten men splitting 10K in 28:57 and the half-marathon in 1:01:30. They were close to even with the late Kelvin Kiptum’s course record at this point, but some time after 25K the competition became less about records and more about a fantastic race shaping up.

The marathon GOAT of the last decade Eliud Kipchoge, believed by many to be on the tail end of his career, managed to defy Father Time all the way through 30K and a little beyond, sticking with the lead pack of nine before he began to falter.

Before 35K, Sawe made a monster move to string out the field, dropping a sub-14-minute 5K and a 4:18 mile to create a 22-second gap between himself and half-marathon record holder Jacob Kiplimo. 2024 Olympic champ Tamirat Tola couldn’t respond and would fade to 5th.

Sawe powered home in 2:02:27 to win his first London Marathon. Kiplimo couldn’t make up the distance to 1st, but he did settle for a national record 2:03:37 for 2nd.

Despite being dropped in 9th, Kipchoge ran a strategic last 10K to move up to 6th place.

Sawe actually ended up besting three Olympic champions in London, though only two were in the marathon. Great Britain’s Alex Yee, the 2024 Olympic triathlon champ, made his much-anticipated marathon debut in an impressive 2:11:08 to take 14th place, beating several professional runners in the process to the delight of his home crowd.

Read more in our live updates article: London Marathon Live Updates

2025 London Marathon Men’s Results

1. SAWE, Sabastian (KEN) 02:02:272. KIPLIMO, Jacob (UGA) 02:03:373. MUNYAO, Alexander Mutiso (KEN) 02:04:204. NAGEEYE, Abdi (NED) 02:04:205. TOLA, Tamirat (ETH) 02:04:426. KIPCHOGE, Eliud (KEN) 02:05:257. KIPKOECH, Hillary (KEN) 02:06:058. PETROS, Amanal (GER) 02:06:309. MAHAMED, Mahamed (GBR) 02:08:5210. MENGESHA, Milkesa (ETH) 02:09:0111. BUCHANAN, Andrew (AUS) 02:09:1112. LIPSCHITZ, Adam (RSA) 02:09:4813. MOEN, Sondre Norstad (NOR) 02:09:5714. YEE, Alex (GBR) 02:11:0815. GHEBRESILASE, Weynay (GBR) 02:11:2116. SMITH, Jake (GBR) 02:11:5717. LAGUERA, Marcelo (MEX) 02:12:0318. SALVANO, Kevin (USA) 02:13:0319. MILNE, Alex (GBR) 02:14:03

20. SESEMANN, Philip (GBR) 02:14:46

How To Watch London Marathon 2025

Information About Entries At The London Marathon

There were 840,318 applicants for the 2025 London Marathon, which shatters the record set in 2024 when 578,374 applications were received.
With such an incredible turnout, the London Marathon is the world’s most competitive entry system marathon.

London Marathon 2025 Schedule

Elite wheelchair race: 3:50 a.m. ET
Elite women’s race: 4:05 a.m. ET
Elite men and mass start: 4:35 a.m. ET

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