Sabastian Sawe of Kenya became the first person to break the 2-hour barrier in an official marathon on Sunday.
Sawe smashed the men’s world record by 65 seconds in winning the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya became the first person to break the 2-hour barrier in an official marathon on Sunday.
Sawe smashed the men’s world record by 65 seconds in winning the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds.
Here's a list of other notable milestones in world athletics and where the records stand now:
U.S. sprinter Jim Hines became the first man to officially break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters in 1968.
The current world record in the 100 belongs to Usain Bolt, whose time of 9.58 seconds came in 2009.
American runner Tommie Smith was the first man to break 20 seconds in 1968, with a time of 19.83 seconds.
Bolt has the current record with 19.19 seconds, also from 2009.
In between, Michael Johnson ran 19.32 at the Atlanta Games in 1996. Noah Lyles ran 19.31 in 2022 to take the iconic U.S. record from Johnson.
Czech runner Jarmila Kratochvilova became the first woman to break 48 seconds in the 400 meters (47.99) in 1983. Two years later, East Germany's Marita Koch bettered that with a run of 47.60 that is still the world record.
Last year, America's Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone became the first woman since the Eastern Bloc era to crack 48 when she ran 47.78 at world championships.
McLaughlin-Levrone, who has lowered the record in the 400 hurdles by more than 2 seconds to 50.37 since 2021, has put the 50-second mark in that event in her sights.
Britain's Roger Bannister became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes in 1954.
The then-Oxford University medical student overtook the second of his pacemakers on the final lap of the race on Oxford’s Iffley Road track to finish in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.
Since then, more than 1,000 athletes have run the mile in under four minutes, according to World Athletics. The current record dates to 1999: 3:43.13 by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj.
One of the most amazing world records in track and field history came in 1968, when Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters (29 feet, 2 1/4 inches) at the Mexico City Olympics.
That mark has been broken once — in 1991 by Mike Powell, whose jump of 8.95 meters (29 feet, 4 1/4 inches) is among the oldest in the athletics record book.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join us at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center on May 1 and May 2 at 7:30 PM for a dynamic … Read moreMateo Motion XXII
Get ready for an exhilarating morning at the Third Annual Foster City 5k Fun Run on Saturday… Read moreFoster City 5k
Come support local artists and small business! Our 3rd annual Spring Studio Sale! Read moreSpring Studio Sale
AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY Read moreAmerican Rose Society NCNH District Rose Show & Rose Sale
Join us May 9th for the District 4 Toastmasters 2026 Conference -Â Eras of YOU: Renewing Huma… Read moreDistrict 4 Annual Conference - Eras of YOU Renewing Human Resilience in the Generative AI Era
Dirk van Ulden said:
Greg - thank you for this wake up call. It is relevant for many of us in similar situations.
Dirk van Ulden said:
Well - good for you but that unicum is still not convincing.
LittleFoot said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.