In an epic, watershed moment in athletics history on Sunday, Sabastian Sawe of Kenya stormed through the London Marathon<\/a> in one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds (1:59:30).<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Huge hand Nike and its rivals have played in Aussie athletics golden age\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Awful trouble' facing Maroons if they pick Munster<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Luai spotted in PNG as Chiefs ramp up marquee pursuit<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/x.com\/BBCSport\/status\/2048352636366115054?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2048352636366115054%7Ctwgr%5E36d37591d96b3688b7ca7ccbcc717ef2379c7e3c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nine.com.au%2Fsport%2Fathletics%2Flondon-marathon-2026-sabastian-sawe-wins-breaks-two-hour-barrier-world-record-20260426-p5zr7o.html<\/a><\/p>\n He \ufeffdid so in a pair of Adidas' Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 \u2013 the sportswear juggernaut's latest and greatest production in the multibillion-dollar "super shoes" war<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2017, Kipchoge, the Kenyan icon widely regarded the greatest marathon runner in history, was unsuccessful in his first attempt at cracking the two-hour mark.<\/p>\n Running on the Monza Formula 1 track behind a car beaming a green laser light and assisted by a rotating cast of 30 pacemakers \u2013 performance-boosting factors that rendered the run unofficial \u2013 he stopped the clock at 2:00:25.<\/p>\n Nike had pumped millions of dollars into that project \u2013 and it failed.<\/p>\n In 2019, Kipchoge again set out to break the two-hour barrier. And on this occasion he did, clocking 1:59:40 in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Mission accomplished.<\/p>\n The only problem\ufeff was similar performance-enhancing factors, including the assistance of a rotating army of 41 pacemakers, meant the legendary distance runner had sort of, but not really, run a marathon in less than two hours.<\/p>\n For Kipchoge's second attempt, at least, Nike had the financial backing of British chemical manufacturing company INEOS\ufeff, which contributed a reported $26 million to the project.<\/p>\n When Sawe became the first official sub-two-hour marathon runner in history in London on Sunday, it was as much a win for Adidas as it was for the athlete.<\/p>\n He was handed a pen and jotted down on his Adidas shoe: "1:59:30 WR sub 2."<\/p>\n He held the shoe up for the dozens of cameras flashing in front of him and the images were beamed into millions of living rooms around the globe.<\/p>\n Adidas, inevitably, will cash in as millions of keen recreational runners scramble to snare their own pair of the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 when it becomes available to the public this year.<\/p>\n Not only did Sawe run in the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, the runner-up did, too, \ufeffYomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia. And Kejelcha, remarkably, also shattered the two-hour barrier, clocking 1:59:41.<\/p>\n "This is a testament to the years of hard work and dedication they have made, alongside our innovation team, who have built a super shoe which breaks new ground," said Patrick Nava, general manager of running at Adidas.<\/p>\n The top-finishing Nike athlete in the men's field was Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda. He finished third and also broke the previous world record \u2013 the 2:00:35 run by the late and great Kelvin Kiptum<\/a> in the 2023 Chicago Marathon \ufeff\u2013 but didn't quite dip under the two-hour mark, running 2:00:28. He was running in a Nike prototype shoe.<\/p>\n The winner of the women's field in the London Marathon, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa, is also an Adidas runner. She ran 2:15:41 to break the women-only world record, which already belonged to her.<\/p>\n Nike didn't podium in the women's field. Hellen Obiri, who's sponsored by On, finished second, and ASICS athlete Joyciline Jepkosgei took third.<\/p>\n Despite Adidas' thumping win over Nike in London, Nike posted to social media: "The clock has been reset. There is no finish line." Nike also congratulated Sawe on his historic run. It was a classy response.<\/p>\n The sportswear behemoth will be desperately hoping Sawe's record doesn't last long, and that it's a runner from the Nike stable who resets the clock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Kipchoge](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2019\/10\/246866\/pickerImage.jpg\")
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