{"id":241338,"date":"2026-05-01T16:50:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T16:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/sabastian-sawe-receives-heros-welcome-in-kenya-after-sub-two-hour-marathon-feat\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T16:50:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T16:50:24","slug":"sabastian-sawe-receives-heros-welcome-in-kenya-after-sub-two-hour-marathon-feat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/sabastian-sawe-receives-heros-welcome-in-kenya-after-sub-two-hour-marathon-feat\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabastian Sawe receives hero\u2019s welcome in Kenya after sub-two hour marathon feat"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hugged, cheered and adorned with garlands, the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours has returned as a hero to his home village in Kenya<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sabastian Sawe, who stunned the world when he clocked 1h 59m 30s<\/a> in the London Marathon last weekend, flew in a Kenyan military plane normally reserved for special operations on Thursday to his home region of western Kenya.<\/p>\n

Waiting on the runway at a small airport perched on an escarpment 2,150 metres above sea level, Lydia Sawe was trembling with anxious excitement, hands clasped around a huge bouquet of orange roses, as her husband\u2019s aircraft touched down.<\/p>\n

The plane door opened and the 31-year-old runner locked eyes with his wife and, beaming, made a beeline for her arms. \u201cCongratulations, darling,\u201d she whispered in his ear, tears streaming down her face.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Lydia Sawe greets her husband, Sabastian, off the military plane.<\/span> Photograph: Ed Ram\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sawe, who broke the world record by 65 seconds, signed a visitor book in the little VIP lounge at Eldoret airport and hugged a line of ecstatic friends and locals. He was given a wreath made from the sinendet plant, which symbolises victory within his Kalenjin ethnic group, and fed fermented milk from a gourd by Lydia to celebrate his win.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Sawe\u2019s wife, Lydia, gives him fermented milk from a gourd on arrival in Eldoret.<\/span> Photograph: Ed Ram\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe victory that took place last Sunday was not just my victory, it was a victory for all of us,\u201d he said in Kiswahili, addressing the jubilant local community that had gathered to welcome him at the airport entrance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy to be home and \u2026 welcomed this much, I\u2019m so grateful,\u201d he told the Guardian.<\/p>\n

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Famous runners are nothing new to this high-altitude part of Kenya. In the towns and villages around the city of Eldoret, in the Great Rift Valley, life is about farming crops, tending to livestock and nurturing the next generation of world record-breaking distance runners.<\/p>\n

Every day, the red dirt roads that weave between modest homesteads and maize fields are pounded by the trainers of thousands of hopeful, driven young runners.<\/p>\n

People living in and growing up in Eldoret are often able to become good distance runners because people living and training at altitude produce more red blood cells to deal with the lower-oxygen environment. When competing at lower altitudes, the greater number of red blood cells can boost oxygen delivery to muscles, resulting in better endurance and performance.<\/p>\n

Sabastian\u2019s grandmother Vivian Kimaru had also had sporting success. \u201cI competed in Munich\u2019s 1972 Olympic Games in 1500 and 800m and reached the semi-final,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m so proud,\u201d she said of her grandson, speaking from his parents\u2019 home in Ndonyongaria village where the celebrations continued.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Guests eat at a celebratory event in Sawe\u2019s parents\u2019 home village of Ndonyongaria.<\/span> Photograph: Ed Ram\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

People sat under marquees and women danced on grass in between bursts of torrential rain while traditional music boomed from a sound system. After speeches and prayers, mounds of rice, sauteed cabbage, beef stew and chapati were served.<\/p>\n

Sawe\u2019s victory on Sunday was followed by days of rushing around, and he arrived in Kenya on Wednesday night to chaotic crowds at Nairobi\u2019s international airport.<\/p>\n

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