Sabastian Sawe has been forced to pull out of another tilt at a sub-two-hour marathon with injury forcing his withdrawal from the Berlin Marathon.
The Kenyan had been due to defend his title in Germany on 27 September in his return to action after smashing the marathon world record in London in April.
The 31-year-old had been tipped to perhaps run even faster than the 1:59:30 he recorded then, with Berlin noted as one of the fastest 26.2-mile courses on the circuit.
But an unspecified issue has meant Sawe has been denied the chance to race.
“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. I want to thank everyone who continues to support me and I wish all the runners taking part a great race.”
Sawe became the first runner to dip under the two-hour mark in an official marathon in London, with runner-up Yomif Kejelcha also breaching a barrier long thought unattainable.
In Sawe’s absence, Berlin 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.
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