Sabastian Sawe has been forced to pull out of the Berlin Marathon with an injury, ruling him out of another attempt at a sub-two-hour marathon.
The Kenyan had been due to defend his title in Germany on 27 September, in his return to action after setting a world record of 1:59:30 in London in April. The 31-year-old had been tipped to run even faster on Berlin's fast course, but an unspecified issue has ended those hopes.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you I am forced to withdraw from the BMW Berlin Marathon due to an injury,” Sawe said in a statement. “I had been looking forward to achieving something special on the streets of Berlin and crossing the finish line at the Brandenburg Gate.”
In Sawe's absence, the Berlin race will be headlined by a competitive women's field led by Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa, who broke the world record in the city in 2023.