Lynch smashes Irish marathon record as Sawe breaks two-hour barrier in London

The Kilkenny man carved a whopping one minute, 46 seconds off the previous Irish record.

Sabastian Sawe next to the timer after setting a new world record during the 2026 TCS London Marathon. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire.

On a landmark day at the London Marathon, Kilkenny’s Peter Lynch smashed the Irish record – the 28-year-old Kilkenny athlete clocking 2:06:08 to finish ninth as Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe obliterated the men’s world record to take victory in 1:59:30.

Lynch’s run carved a whopping one minute, 46 seconds off the previous Irish record, set by Fearghal Curtin in South Korea last October.

“I’m really happy with it,” said Lynch. “With the marathon, you never really know. It’s such a long way and a lot can go wrong. To have it all go right is really good.” 

Sawe, meanwhile, produced the greatest marathon performance of all time, carving an astonishing 65 seconds off the world record set by his Kenyan compatriot Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.

Sawe’s run was also quicker than the 1:59:40 run by Eliud Kipchoge during the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in 2019, which did not count as a world record due to the use of rotating pacemakers.

On a day of mild temperatures and spring sunshine, the race drew 59,000 entrants and again proved why it is the world’s best marathon. The leading pack went through halfway in the men’s race in a fast but controlled 1:00:29, with Sawe taking the lead before 30K and only Ethiopia’s marathon debutant, Yomif Kejelcha, was able to stick with him.

The Kenyan kept cranking up the pace through the closing miles and only broke Kejelcha in the closing mile, reaching the finish line on The Mall in a stunning 1:59:30. Kejelcha was also well under the previous record, finishing second with 1:59:41, while Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo came home third in 2:00:28.

“I’m so happy with what I’ve done, it’s a day to remember for me,” said Sawe. “Finishing the race, I was feeling strong. When I saw the time, I was so excited.” 

Former world record holder Tigst Assefa claimed the women’s title in 2:15:41, a world record for a women’s-only marathon, with Kenya’s Hellen Obiri second in 2:15:53.

Lynch, meanwhile, had predicted before the race that he was in 2:06 shape and the Kilkenny City Harrier, who trains with the Puma Elite Running Team in North Carolina, set off with that goal in mind, passing 10K in 29:54 and hitting halfway in 15th place, splitting 1:03:14 and running with training partners Jack Rowe and Patrick Dever of Britain.

“It went in waves, definitely,” said Lynch. “The first 15/20K, there were definitely a lot of periods where I didn’t feel amazing, but it was just a case of trusting it and hanging in there.”

Lynch sliced through the field over the latter half and split a swift 14:50 5K from 35-40K, hitting the finish in ninth for what was, by some distance, the best run of his career. It’s the second time in the past year that Lynch has broken the national record, having clocked 2:09:36 to finish third in Dusselforf last April.

“The last 5K, my calves were cramping up, I could feel them every stride,” he said. “I was just pushing as hard as I could and hoping they wouldn’t fully cramp, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to slow down. Other than that, it went about as smooth as I could have hoped for.

“It was definitely the best I’ve felt towards the end of a marathon, I felt like I could really race it. That’s the first time I’ve done a marathon where I felt strong, my breathing felt relaxed, I felt I could really push.” 

Lynch had come into the race in flying form. At the New York City Half Marathon in March, he became the first Irishman in history to break 60 minutes, finishing fifth in 59:52.

“I think I'm definitely in shape to run 2:06 on the right day,” he said ahead of the race.

He graduated from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma in 2024 and has since been under the guidance of Alistair Cragg, who won European Indoor gold for Ireland over 3000m in 2005. 

Ahead of the race Cragg said he was “comfortable with a 2:06 effort” for Lynch and predicted he could run much quicker down the line. “To run 2:04, I think he needs time to learn how to become that runner,” he said.

Lynch will now take a few weeks off and he plans to bypass the European Championships in Birmingham this summer, his next marathon planned for the autumn. His next appearance in an Irish vest will likely be at the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen in September, where he will target the half marathon.

“I definitely have unfinished business with that race,” he said. “I dropped out [at the last edition] in Riga so it’d be great to go there and be competitive.” 

Elsewhere, Hugh Armstrong was in action at the Dusseldorf Marathon, the Mayo runner finishing fifth in the men’s race in 2:13:55. 

Meanwhile, at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, Texas on Saturday, Lauren Roy continued her breakthrough year by clocking 11.08 for 100m, aided by a 2.8m/s tailwind.

While the wind was above the allowable limit of 2.0 for record purposes, it’s the second-fastest all-conditions 100m time in history by an Irishwoman, behind only Rhasidat Adeleke’s 10.84 (3.5m/s) from 2023.