Kenya's Sawe throws dice in Berlin marathon

Kenya's world-leading marathon runner, Sabastian Sawe, has decided to throw his hat into the ring and run the September Berlin marathon instead of the world championships in Tokyo.

The world record holder of two marathons in Valencia in December 2024 and London last April, Sawe was expected to lead the Kenyan men's challenge at the Tokyo worlds.

Sawe's rise in the marathon follows his compatriot, the late Kelvin Kiptum who died in a road accident in February 2024. Like Kiptum, Sawe won the Valencia race on his debut over the 42km distance in December 2024, clocking a world-leading 2:02.05.

He followed that up when he destroyed an elite field at this year's London marathon, winning in a time of 2:02.27.

The Berlin flat course is considered the fastest in the world, accounting for 13 individual world records for men.

Sawe says he is expecting to run a fast time on his Berlin debut. The men's marathon in Tokyo will be held on 15 September, that is six days before the Berlin marathon.