Sabastian Sawe: How History-Making Kenyan Could Earn Ksh129 Million from Sub-Two-Hour London Marathon Win

Sabastian Sawe is already assured over Ksh30 million from his history-making sub-two-hour London Marathon win but he could be in line for up to Ksh129 million.

Sawe did not just shatter the world record on Sunday but also became the first man to run an official marathon under two hours, when he clocked an astonishing 1:59:30 in the English capital.

So fast was he that second-placed Yomif Kejelcha also dipped under two hours, the Ethiopian clocking 1:59:41 on his marathon debut, while third-placed Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo stopped the clock at 2:00:28, also faster than the previous world record of 2:00:35, set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in October 2023.

Following the heroic act, Sawe is guaranteed a winner’s prize of $55,000 (Ksh7.1 million) and there is an additional world record bonus of $125,000 (Ksh16.1 million) and $25,000 (Ksh3.2 million) for breaking the course record which had stood at 2:01:25 before Sunday’s race.

Further, Sawe, alongside Kejelcha, Kiplimo and Amos Kipruto, who finished fourth in 2:01:39, will share a $150,000 (Ksh19.3 million) bonus for running under 2:02:00, meaning his share is $37,500 (Ksh4.8 million).

That will take Sawe’s total prize money to $242,500 (Ksh31.3 million) from his London Marathon job completed in just under two hours.

It gets interesting after this. Sawe, who wore Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoes, featuring advanced foam and a carbon plate, is set to earn much more in appearance fees and from his sponsors, who include Adidas.

Adidas, who have invested heavily in in the marathoner, saw their shares rise by two percent when he ran the sub-two-hour marathon, and will reward him with mouth-watering bonuses tied to certain targets such as breaking the course, word record and now, running under two hours.

According to Nation, Eliud Kipchoge earned over $1.5 million (Ksh194 million) from appearance fees, prize money, and bonuses after record-breaking performances in the past and this is the kind of pay package that Sawe is likely to command.

An Athletics Kenya source who spoke to the outlet confirmed that Sawe is in line to pocket in the region of $1 million (Ksh129 million) when you combine the prize money, appearance fees and performance bonuses due to him, not just from the race organisers, but from his sponsors with such figures normally kept private and negotiated by the athlete’s representatives.