Mark

LONDON — The fabled two-hour barrier for a marathon has been broken, officially, in an once-inconceivable achievement in sports.

Not by one runner, but two.

In a race for the ages, Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds on Sunday, shattering the previous men’s world record by an astonishing 65 seconds.

“What comes today is not for me alone,” the 29-year-old Sawe said, “but for all of us today in London.”

Just 11 seconds further back was Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who — running in his first-ever marathon — also covered the 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) course in under 2 hours.

Completing the podium was Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who broke the previous world-record time — set by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023 — by seven seconds, finishing in 2:00:28.

In an exhilarating sight, Sawe ran quicker as the marathon went on, covering the second half of the race in 59 minutes and 1 second. He pulled clear with Kejelcha after 30 kilometers and then made his solo break in the final two kilometers, sprinting along the finish on The Mall to loud cheers.

Sabastian Sawe of Team Kenya runs ahead of Yomif Kejelcha of Team Ethiopia during the London Marathon on Sunday in London.

(Warren Little / Getty Images)

Sawe, who retained his title in London, said it was a “day to remember for me” and thanked the huge crowds who lined the streets of the British capital to witness what might be regarded as a feat marking the peak of human physical achievement.

“I think they help a lot,” he said, “because if it was not for them you don’t feel like you are so loved … with them calling, you feel so happy and strong.”

Under two hours has been done before — unofficially

Breaking two hours in a marathon has been a long time coming — and has been done before.

However, when Eliud Kipchoge — the Kenyan long-distance great — achieved the feat in Vienna in 2019, it was in a specially tailored race called the “1.59 Challenge” that was arranged by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe in favorable conditions, on a 6-mile (9.6-kilometer) circuit, and using rotating pacemakers.

That meant it wasn’t classed as an official race setting, so Kipchoge’s time of 1:59:40 didn’t go in the record book.

In any case, Sawe surpassed that time by 10 seconds on a mostly flat course across London in dry, sunny conditions.

Sabastian Sawe, of Kenya, smiles and holds up his adidas shoe with his world-record marathon time written on it Sunday in London.

(Alex Davidson / Getty Images)

“The goalposts have literally just moved for marathon running,” Paula Radcliffe, a former winner of the London Marathon, said during commentary of the race for the BBC.

At the turn of the century, the world’s best time for the men’s marathon was 2:05:42, set by Khalid Khannouchi in Chicago in 1999.

Khannouchi broke his own record by four seconds in 2002 — the last time the fastest men’s marathon was run in London — and it has been whittled down gradually over the last 24 years by a succession of Kenyan and Ethiopian runners, including Haile Gebrselassie, Wilson Kipsang, Kipchoge and most recently Kiptum.

Assefa wins fastest-ever women’s-only marathon

A record was also set in the women’s race, with Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa pulling away with about 500 meters remaining to win in 2:15:41 and defend the title in the fastest-ever time in a women’s-only marathon.

However, it was 16 seconds slower than the course record set by Radcliffe in 2003 when it was a mixed race.

Tigst Assefa celebrates as she crosses the finish line during the London Marathon women’s race in a record time Sunday.

(Ian Walton / Associated Press)

Kenya’s Hellen Obiri was 12 seconds back in second place in a personal-best time on her London debut and compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei was third, a further two seconds adrift. It was the first time three women have run under 2 hours, 16 minutes in a marathon.

“I screamed when I finished because I knew I was breaking the world record,” Assefa said.

“I felt much healthier today and have worked really hard on my speed and all my training has paid off.”

Swiss double in wheelchair races

In the wheelchair races, there was a Swiss double with Marcel Hug powering to a sixth straight men’s title — and eighth in total — and Catherine Debrunner beating Tatyana McFadden in a close finish to defend the title.

April 19 (UPI) — Citing steep tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday his country’s historically close trade and economic ties to the United States have become a “weakness.”

In a video statement posted to YouTube, the Canadian leader asserted the United States has “fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.”

This has meant that “many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses — weaknesses that we must correct.”

Carney’s comments as Trump’s trade war with Canada has disrupted decades of cross border cooperation, triggered in part by a broad 10% tariff slapped by Washington onto all goods not excluded under the Canada-US-Mexico free trade agreement known as CUSMA.

Significantly higher U.S. levies have also been imposed on key strategic sectors, including a 50% tariff on Canadian products that are almost entirely made of steel, aluminum or copper, and a 25% tariff on products that are “largely” made of those metals.

Many types of Canadian heavy equipment also face a 15% tariff upon entry into the United States.

Ottawa says the effect of these measures has been profound, “displacing workers, disrupting supply chains, forcing companies to rethink where they source their materials and products, and causing uncertainty that is curbing investment.”

Although Canada still has the best deal of any U.S. trading partner in an era when Trump has used the threat of tariffs and against both allies and adversaries for strategic and political ends, “we cannot rely on our most important trade relationship as we once did. We must build our strength at home,” Carney said.

“Workers in our industries most affected by U.S. tariffs in autos and steel and lumber are under threat,” he added. “Businesses are holding back investments restrained by the pall of uncertainty that’s hanging over all of us.”

Triggered by the U.S. trade actions and Trump’s oft-repeated desire to annex Canada as the “51st state,” Carney’s Liberal Party government in January made a milestone deal with China to lower some of the tariffs imposed by one another on some of their trade goods.

Under that pact, China lowered its tariffs on Canadian agricultural products, while Canada slashed its tariffs on up to 49,000 electric vehicles that are made in China.

The deal was denounced by Trump, who threatened to impose a 100% tariff on all Canadian goods sent to the United States in response.

“China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric and general way of life,” the U.S. president asserted.

But Carney on Sunday again defended his expansion of trade away from the United States, saying, “We will attract new investment so we can build more for ourselves, striking new partnerships abroad so we can sell into new markets.

“It’s about taking back control of our security, our borders and our future.”

Williams’ cautiousness about going under the knife suggests he still has ambitions to continue on the baize for years to come – and who can blame him.

Last October, at the age of 50 years and 206 days, he beat the mark set back in 1982 by fellow Welshman Ray Reardon to become the oldest winner of a ranking event when he triumphed in the Xi’an Grand Prix.

Even now, having turned 51 last month, he is ranked sixth in the world going into the World Championship this weekend..

“When I was 45 I said I’d like to see where I am in the rankings when I’m 50,” Williams recalled.

“I’m not retiring, I made that decision years ago. Let’s see where I am in the rankings at 55, that’ll be interesting.”

He may have ruled out retirement but is not feeling quite so confident about his chances at the Crucible this year.

“I’m still fighting. I’m still trying and that’s all I can say,” he said.

“I try my best in every tournament and if you win, great, if you lose, that’s not the end of the world.

“I’ve been doing this since I was an eight-year-old kid. My father was going down the mines for 30 years, my grandfather for 50 years.

“I’m just travelling around the world playing the stupid game of snooker, getting paid well for it and enjoying it. You can’t put too much pressure on yourself.”