Sabastian Sawe in a previous race/ HANDOUT
London Marathon champion Sabastian Sawe target a fast time at Sunday’s Berlin Marathon, where he leads a strong field that includes holder Milkesa Mengesha of Ethiopia and Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay.
Sawe, making his third appearance over the 42km distance, believes he is ready for a big performance.
“Berlin is a fast course. My preparations have been good and I am also strong mentally. I will try my best to run even faster on Sunday,” he said in the pre-race press conference.
Sawe is ranked fifth globally with a personal best of 2:02:05, set at the 2024 Valencia Marathon. The world record stands at 2:00:35, set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023.
He made headlines in Valencia with the second-fastest debut in marathon history, finishing just 12 seconds behind Kiptum’s debut time. He followed that with a 2:02:27 win in London, beating Jacob Kiplimo and Alexander Munyao.
“I have so far run two marathons and I have done well. What I have learnt from those two races is that I am capable of dominating the marathon scene,” said Sawe.
Berlin is familiar ground for the Kenyan, who won the 2023 Berlin Half Marathon in 59:00.
“Winning the Berlin Half was a nice moment for me because it was my first time running in Berlin,” he said.
Sawe will wear the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2, which he said are comfortable and offer good impact protection.
Mengesha, who won last year’s race in 2:03:17, will look to bounce back from his 10th-place finish at the 2025 London Marathon.
“I had a good season last year and I have prepared well, so I expect to run fast,” he said.
Geay, a winner in Daegu this year, said: “I believe I will run my best and get good results on Sunday.”
