“Historical” is the word I have the most pet peeve in journalism. Trivialized, it is used to describe moments that are not trivial. When something is truly historic, it seems to lose its strength.
Breaking the magical marathon mark gives the author of the feat the merit of receiving this definition. For the first time in history, someone ran the race distance, in an official event, under two hours. The owner of the feat is Kenyan Sabastian Sawe, who completed the London Marathon, on Sunday (26), in 1h59min30s. My idol in athletics, Eliud Kipchoge, ran 1h59min40s in 2019, but it was in a race made especially to break the record and it wasn’t officially valid.
For decades, Kenyans have amazed us with their superhuman ability to run fast. Very fast. A powerhouse over long distances, with a perfect mix of genetics, ideal geographic conditions for training, nutrition and lifestyle.
However, lately, this enchantment has been tarnished by many cases of doping in athletics. As a running lover, I thought Sawe’s world record and sub-2h were incredible, but I thought: can we trust this record?
Sawe has never failed a drug test. Leaving the guilt aside, I looked at the numbers involving Kenyans and the use of banned substances.
The 2021 New York Marathon winner Albert Korir has been banned for five years. The current women’s world record holder, Ruth Chepngetich, by three. Former world record holder Wilson Kipsang, Rio 2016 Olympic champion Jemima Sumgong, 2017 London marathon winner Daniel Wanjiru — all suspended for doping. The list follows, and includes winners from Boston and Chicago, as well as “rabbits” who helped Kipchoge in the sub-2h in 2019.
In a poor country with plenty of talent, doping has become an attraction for runners seduced by high prizes and looking for a better future. Kenya’s anti-doping agency was only created in 2016, after the country was almost banned from the Rio Games. In 2017, the international body AIU (Athletics Integrity Unity) was created to combat cases in athletics.
Sawe does something commendable. He and his team approached the AIU and asked for him to be tested as much as possible before the 2025 Berlin Marathon so that no one would doubt his performance. It is estimated to have been evaluated every three days, and frequent testing continues into 2026.
It is also a fact that, since the invention of carbon plate shoes in 2016, we have entered a new era in the marathon. World records have plummeted — Sawe’s time is more than two minutes faster than Kipchoge’s in 2018. Nutrition, technology have advanced. If I, a mere mortal, invested in high-tech sneakers and carbohydrate gels to achieve my hard-earned sub-4h run in the London marathon two years ago, why wouldn’t a professional athlete use them? It is, in fact, thanks to these competitors, that these models later reach store shelves.
A phrase I hear a lot in sport is that “doping is always ahead of anti-doping”. For us running lovers, there is always hope that records and historic milestones are the result of dedication and extreme talent. This, in Kenya, will never be lacking.
LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access seven free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.
