adidas athletes break sub-2 barrier and world records in London

The men’s two-hour barrier in marathon running has been broken in official race conditions for the first time. At the 2026 London Marathon on Apr. 26, adidas athletes Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha both finished under two hours, with Sawe setting a new world record of 1:59:30 and Kejelcha clocking 1:59:41 on his marathon debut. Tigist Assefa set a women-only world record of 2:15:41.

From a sporting goods perspective, adidas has reason to celebrate. All three athletes raced in the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, the latest iteration of adidas’ supershoe line, which the brand describes as its lightest and fastest version yet. The men wore the Techfit+ Endurance Shorts and Climacool+ Singlet; Kejelcha competed in the Techfit+ Endurance Suit. adidas confirmed its innovation team worked closely with all three athletes to develop the race-day kit.

How much the shoe contributed to these results is difficult to isolate, but it does represent the most advanced race product adidas has produced to date – what the brand calls “the fastest, lightest Adizero shoe ever made.”

The Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 is built to a heel stack of 39 mm and a forefoot of 33 mm, with a 6 mm drop. The third generation of the Adizero Adios Pro Evo platform, it launched in April 2025 and has since accumulated three world records, more than 30 road race wins, six World Marathon Major victories, seven national records, five course records and one Olympic record time.

The broader Adizero franchise, which traces its competition history to 2020, has now been worn to 200-plus victories at key Running and track competitions, with 24 world records broken in total. In 2024, adidas athletes wearing Adizero models won six of the 12 World Major Marathons – more than any single competitor brand.