Men · World record

Marathon

The current record and its documented progression: 11 ratified records from 2002 to 2026, with 33 listed as world bests before ratification, 9 otherwise annotated shown in place.

Current record

1:59:30

Sabastian SaweKENLondon · 26 Apr 2026

0 years standing65 s improvementAll-time top 25 →

Record progression

Each step is a documented record; hollow marks were rescinded, not ratified or are pending

1908 · 2:55:18.4 Johnny Hayes (World best)1909 · 2:52:45.4 Robert Fowler (World best)1909 · 2:46:52.8 James Clark (World best)1909 · 2:46:04.6 Albert Raines (World best)1909 · 2:42:31.0 Henry Barrett (World best)1909 · 2:40:34.2 Thure Johansson (World best)1913 · 2:38:16.2 Harry Green (World best)1913 · 2:36:06.6 Alexis Ahlgren (World best)1914 · 2:38:00.8 Umberto Blasi (Annotated)1920 · 2:32:35.8 Hannes Kolehmainen (World best)1925 · 2:29:01.8 Albert Michelsen (World best)1929 · 2:30:57.6 Harry Payne (Annotated)1935 · 2:26:14 Sohn Kee-chung (Annotated)1935 · 2:27:49.0 Fusashige Suzuki (World best)1935 · 2:26:44.0 Yasuo Ikenaka (World best)1935 · 2:26:42 Sohn Kee-chung (World best)1947 · 2:25:39 Suh Yun-bok (World best)1952 · 2:20:42.2 Jim Peters (World best)1953 · 2:18:40.4 Jim Peters (World best)1953 · 2:18:34.8 Jim Peters (World best)1954 · 2:17:39.4 Jim Peters (World best)1956 · 2:18:04.8 Paavo Kotila (Annotated)1958 · 2:15:17.0 Sergei Popov (World best)1960 · 2:15:16.2 Abebe Bikila (World best)1963 · 2:15:15.8 Toru Terasawa (World best)1963 · 2:14:28 Leonard Edelen (World best)1963 · 2:14:43 Brian Kilby (Annotated)1964 · 2:13:55 Basil Heatley (World best)1964 · 2:12:11.2 Abebe Bikila (World best)1965 · 2:12:00 Morio Shigematsu (World best)1967 · 2:09:36.4 Derek Clayton (World best)1969 · 2:08:33.6 Derek Clayton (World best)1970 · 2:09:28.8 Ron Hill (Annotated)1974 · 2:09:12 Ian Thompson (Annotated)1978 · 2:09:05.6 Shigeru So (Annotated)1980 · 2:09:01 Gerard Nijboer (Annotated)1981 · 2:08:18 Robert de Castella (World best)1984 · 2:08:05 Steve Jones (World best)1985 · 2:07:12 Carlos Lopes (World best)1988 · 2:06:50 Belayneh Dinsamo (World best)1998 · 2:06:05 Ronaldo da Costa (World best)1999 · 2:05:42 Khalid Khannouchi (World best)2002 · 2:05:38 Khalid Khannouchi2003 · 2:04:55 Paul Tergat2007 · 2:04:26 Haile Gebrselassie2008 · 2:03:59 Haile Gebrselassie2011 · 2:03:38 Patrick Makau2013 · 2:03:23 Wilson Kipsang2014 · 2:02:57 Dennis Kimetto2018 · 2:01:39 Eliud Kipchoge2022 · 2:01:09 Eliud Kipchoge2023 · 2:00:35 Kelvin Kiptum2026 · 1:59:30 Sabastian Sawe 1:59:30.02:55:18.4

19081935 · Suzuki 2:27:49.01963 · Kilby 2:14:431988 · Dinsamo 2:06:502026 · Sawe 1:59:30

Documented records

11 ratified · 33 world bests · 9 annotated · most recent first · Wikipedia (EN) revision 1372025651, imported 2 Sep 2026

MarkAthleteNationVenueDateStood
1:59:30 Sabastian SaweSecond place Yomif Kejelcha also broke 2:00:00 when finishing 11 seconds later. KEN London Marathon 26 Apr 2026 131 d
2:00:35 Kelvin Kiptum KEN Chicago Marathon 8 Oct 2023 2 yrs
2:01:09 Eliud Kipchoge KEN Berlin Marathon 25 Sep 2022 1 yr
2:01:39 Eliud Kipchoge KEN Berlin Marathon 16 Sep 2018 4 yrs
2:02:57 Dennis Kimetto KEN Berlin Marathon 28 Sep 2014 3 yrs
2:03:23 Wilson Kipsang KEN Berlin Marathon 29 Sep 2013 364 d
2:03:38 Patrick Makau KEN Berlin Marathon 25 Sep 2011 2 yrs
2:03:59 Haile Gebrselassie ETH Berlin Marathon 28 Sep 2008 2 yrs
2:04:26 Haile Gebrselassie ETH Berlin Marathon 30 Sep 2007 364 d
2:04:55 Paul Tergat KEN Berlin Marathon 28 Sep 2003 4 yrs
2:05:38 Khalid Khannouchi USA London Marathon 14 Apr 2002 1 yr
2:05:42 Khalid Khannouchi World bestListed by World Athletics as a world best prior to official acceptance MAR Chicago Marathon 24 Oct 1999
2:06:05 Ronaldo da Costa World bestListed by World Athletics as a world best prior to official acceptance BRA Berlin Marathon 20 Sep 1998
2:06:50 Belayneh Dinsamo World bestListed by World Athletics as a world best prior to official acceptance ETH Rotterdam Marathon 17 Apr 1988
2:07:12 Carlos Lopes World bestListed by World Athletics as a world best prior to official acceptance POR Rotterdam Marathon 20 Apr 1985
2:08:05 Steve Jones World bestListed by World Athletics as a world best prior to official acceptance GBR Chicago Marathon 21 Oct 1984
2:08:18 Robert de Castella World bestListed by World Athletics as a world best prior to official acceptance AUS Fukuoka Marathon 6 Dec 1981
2:09:01 Gerard Nijboer AnnotatedRecognized by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) NED Amsterdam Marathon 26 Apr 1980
2:09:05.6 Shigeru So AnnotatedRecognized by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) JPN Beppu-Ōita Marathon 5 Feb 1978
2:09:12 Ian Thompson AnnotatedRecognized by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) GBR Christchurch Commonwealth Games, New Zealand 31 Jan 1974

Showing 20 of 53 · Show all · Rows link to a profile only where the athlete appears on a published list. Struck marks were rescinded or never ratified, and A marks a performance at altitude; both come from the source article's own key and markers, and eras are kept as it lists them. Nothing is inferred.