Sabastian Sawe, who last Sunday became the first athlete to run a marathon in less than two hours in London, was hailed as a hero this Thursday (30) in his country, Kenya, and praised by President William Ruto.
Receiving the athlete at the presidential palace in Nairobi, Ruto described Sawe’s achievement as “a decisive moment in the history of human resistance” and compared it to other milestones, such as man’s arrival on the Moon.
“Future generations will remember April 26, 2026, as the day that one man broke a physical and psychological barrier that was long considered insurmountable; and the name forever associated with that moment will be Sebastian Sawe,” the president added in his speech.
Sawe was greeted by a huge crowd at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi when he landed on Wednesday night (29).
“It’s a very beautiful day. I’m happy that you joined me in the celebration and showed a spirit that I never imagined possible. I’m very grateful,” the athlete told the crowd.
“I didn’t just do this for me, I did it for all of us. And I would like us all to celebrate and for this to become a record for all of us,” he added.
Kenya is a powerhouse in long-distance running, and its champions are superstars in the country.
But the pressure to join the elite makes doping a serious problem in Kenya: two winners of the London Marathon — Wilson Kipsang, in 2012 and 2014, and Daniel Wanjiru, in 2017 — are among the athletes who have been punished.
In an attempt to dispel these suspicions about his own performance, Sawe voluntarily submitted to additional anti-doping controls, even paying US$50,000 (R$250,000) to be tested 25 times a year by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) before last year’s Berlin Marathon, held on September 21.
