Sabastian Sawe receives hero’s welcome in Kenya after sub-two hour marathon feat

Record-breaker says London Marathon win was ‘a victory for all of us’ as he is greeted by family and friends in Eldoret Hugged, cheered and adorned with garlands, the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours has returned as a hero to his home village in Kenya. Sabastian Sawe, who stunned the world when he clocked 1h 59m 30s in the London Marathon last weekend, flew in a Kenyan military plane normally reserved for special operations on Thursday to his home region of western Kenya. Continue reading... Record-breaker says London Marathon win was ‘a victory for all of us’ as he is greeted by family and friends in Eldoret Hugged, cheered and adorned with garlands, the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours has returned as a hero to his home village in Kenya . Sabastian Sawe, who stunned the world when he clocked 1h 59m 30s in the London Marathon last weekend, flew in a Kenyan military plane normally reserved for special operations on Thursday to his home region of western Kenya.

Waiting on the runway at a small airport perched on an escarpment 2,150 metres above sea level, Lydia Sawe was trembling with anxious excitement, hands clasped around a huge bouquet of orange roses, as her husband’s aircraft touched down. Sawe, who broke the world record by 65 seconds, signed a visitor book in the little VIP lounge at Eldoret airport and hugged a line of ecstatic friends and locals. “The victory that took place last Sunday was not just my victory, it was a victory for all of us,” he said in Kiswahili, addressing the jubilant local community that had gathered to welcome him at the airport entrance. Famous runners are nothing new to this high-altitude part of Kenya. In the towns and villages around the city of Eldoret, in the Great Rift Valley, life is about farming crops, tending to livestock and nurturing the next generation of world record-breaking distance runners.

People living in and growing up in Eldoret are often able to become good distance runners because people living and training at altitude produce more red blood cells to deal with the lower-oxygen environment. Sawe’s victory on Sunday was followed by days of rushing around, and he arrived in Kenya on Wednesday night to chaotic crowds at Nairobi’s international airport. He presented Sawe with two cheques totalling 8m shillings (£46,000), one for winning the race and the other for breaking the world record. Sawe also received car number plates showing his record time. In return, Sawe gave the president one of his racing shoes with 1.59.30 written in marker pen on the sole.

Emmy Biwott, 45, the director of Uasin Gishu county government primary school, who had come to the airport to welcome Sawe, said athletes were “our cash crop”. Toby Tanser, an author of books on Kenyan running and the founder of Shoe4Africa, a running and Aids awareness charity, said money was the motivation behind the region’s running success. Six of the 10 fastest male marathoners in history and four of the fastest females marathoners have come from Kenya. In Sawe’s village, Tanser said: “You’ll not see a single fun runner, a charity runner or just running for health. People around here run for a way out of poverty.

Nearly every famous Kenyan runner has come from a village setting.” Away from the crowd, in the living room of her parents-in-law, Lydia, sat with close family and friends. I will be someone.” Explore more on these topics Share Reuse this content Record-breaker says London Marathon win was ‘a victory for all of us’ as he is greeted by family and friends in Eldoret Hugged, cheered and adorned with garlands, the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours has returned as a hero to his home village in Kenya. Sabastian Sawe, who stunned the world when he clocked 1h 59m 30s in the London Marathon last weekend, flew in a Kenyan military plane normally reserved for special operations on Thursday to his home region of western Kenya. Continue reading... Sabastian Sawe receives hero’s welcome in Kenya after sub-two hour marathon feat