There was a hero’s welcome for marathon world record-breaker Sabastian Sawe as he returned to Kenya and was lauded by President William Ruto on Thursday.
Sawe made history in London on Sunday by becoming the first athlete to run a sub-two hour marathon in race conditions.
Receiving Sawe at State House in Nairobi, Ruto said it was “a defining moment in the story of human endurance”.
He compared it to milestones in human history including the first four-minute mile by Roger Bannister in 1954 and even the moon landing.
“Future generations will look back on 26 April, 2026, as the day a man broke through a physical and psychological barrier long thought insurmountable; and the name forever attached to that moment will be Sabastian Sawe,” Ruto said in a speech.
Sawe clocked 1hr 59min 30sec in a tight battle with Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who also came in under two hours.
Sawe was mobbed at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport when he landed late Wednesday.
“It is such a beautiful day. I’m glad you have joined me in celebrating, and that you have shown a spirit I never expected could be like this. I’m very grateful,” he told the crowd.
“I didn’t do it just for myself, I did it for all of us. And I would like us all to enjoy it and for it to stand as a record for all of us,” he added.
Kenya has dominated long-distance running, and its runners are superstars in the country.
The pressure to break into the elite means doping is a major problem in Kenya.
Two former Kenyan winners of the men’s race at the London Marathon — Wilson Kipsang, the victor in 2012 and 2014, and 2017 winner Daniel Wanjiru — are among those to have been subsequently banned.
In a bid to allay such suspicions about his own performances, Sawe has voluntarily subjected himself to extra drug testing, even paying US$50,000 to be tested 25 times in the year by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) before last year’s Berlin race.
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