Coach Ben

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF 🤩 🇪🇹’s Tigst Assefa defends her TCS London Marathon crown, breaking her own women’s-only marathon world record once again with 2:15:41 👑 She lowers the very mark she set here last year by 9 seconds 😤

1:59:41… in your MARATHON DEBUT!!🤯🔥 Yomif Kejelcha 🇪🇹 ran 1:59:41 and finished 2nd at the London Marathon. From former indoor mile WR holder to former half marathon WR holder, and now #2 all-time in the marathon… Range for days!!

HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE 🫨 Sabastian Sawe becomes the first person ever to break the 2-hour barrier in official race conditions, storming to a historic 1:59:30‼️ @KejelchaYomif, on his marathon debut, also breaks 2 hours with a stunning 1:59:41 and @jacobkiplimo2 clocks 2:00:28, also faster than the previous world record 😤

In 2025, Sabastian Sawe asked the AIU to test him as frequently as possible. He underwent 25 tests in the build-up to the Berlin Marathon, blood and urine, around 2–3 times per week, including days where he was tested twice. He maintained that same approach into 2026. Now, he has broken the Marathon World Record, clocking 1:59:30 in London. Officially the first man to go sub-2 in the marathon.

What in the world did we just see! The 2 hour marathon barrier has been broken. Three guys went under the old world record... Sabastian Sawe just ran 1:59:30 with crazy negative splits, closing the last half in 59:01....faster than the American Record in the half. One of the most mind blowing performances we've seen. How did we get here? Every breakthrough is a mixture of belief and progress. It takes folks daring to see what's possible, surrounding themselves with a quality team and doing the work to give themselves a shot. You've got to bet on yourself in a big way. When asked whether he believed he could run a sub-2-hour marathon before the race, Sawe answered with one word: "Yes." Let's get the obvious out of the way. Performance enhancing drugs are the legitimate question mark to every breakthrough. So Sawe did as much as he could about taking that off the table. He and his team asked to be tested all the time. His sponsor put up 50K to the Athlete Integrity Unit. The tests are run independently, no advance notice. Over a 2 month stretch, he went through 25 drug tests. There's always a doubt. There has to be given what we know. Hopefully there's transparency in the results. But hats off to Sawe for addressing it: "I want to prove that I am clean when I set foot at the start line." But how'd we actually get here where two guys went sub 2 in the same race? 1. Shoe tech We've had a revolution in shoe technology that boosts running economy. For years shoe companies said their shoe would make you faster and was mostly marketing. Until 2016, when it actually did. Initial research showed a 3-4% saving in economy, while subsequent work has shown it's highly variable. Now, it's a matching game. Find the perfect shoe for your form and you can get a big boost. Normally, it takes years of lots of miles and strength training to boost economy. But now we get that instant boost that not only helps boost performance but often leaves us feeling less beat up in the later stages of the marathon. So we get a little bit less hitting of the wall... 2. The fuel For a long time, fueling was limited by biology. You can only take in and process so much. Then in the 2000s, researchers found if we mixed sugars, we can boost intake because they're processed differently. Then recently, Maurten found if you use a hydrxogel, you boost utilization without GI distress anymore. We've gone from pushing 60g/hr to 120g/hr in a few decades. Again...less bonking. 3. Depth A few decades ago, you spent your career racing on the track and then once your speed started to fade a bit you went to the marathon. Now, many skip right to the marathon. That's where the money is. And with the economy boost from the shoes, you can make that jump quickly. More depth of talent means more competitors in their prime pushing barriers. 4. Belief Even with the shoes and tech, a few years ago sub 2 hours seemed a long way off, until Kipchoge pushed that barrier in a series of time trials. Yes, they weren't official races and had contrived pacing. But it absolutely shifted everyone's thinking on what is possible. A generation of runners saw Kipchoge go for it. Our prediction of what is possible changed. It's mind blowing how far we've come in such a short time. What once seemed decades away, just got smashed twice in the same race. Hats off to Sawe, especially for addressing the scourge of doping and showing folks what is possible with a lot of hard work, some crazy belief, and some fortuitous advances.

LUCKY NUMBER 1️⃣3️⃣!!! Mondo Duplantis 🇸🇪 continues to soar higher and higher, breaking the world record in the pole vault for the 13th time in his career with a 6.29m/20’7.5” leap at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial meet in Hungary. Duplantis needed two attempts to clear opening height, but also only needed two attempts to better his own WR mark by one centimeter.

MONDO DUPLANTIS BREAKS THE POLE VAULT WORLD RECORD FOR THE 13TH TIME IN HIS CAREER. CLEARS 6.29 METERS. BRILLIANT. x.com/sportnmedia2/s…

I think this was one of the most entertaining weekends in Track and Field. So many story lines, head to heads, and fast times. 🔥🤝🏾. Hopefully the powers that be use this as an opportunity to broaden our sport in the market. We did our thing. 🫵🏾🔥🕺

Heart of a champion ❤️

Dalilah Muhammad wins the 400m hurdles U.S. title in her final season. She’s headed back to the World Championships one last time. #USATFOutdoors

Kenny Bednarek just pushed Noah Lyles after Noah HAWKED him down to win the 200m National title in 19.63. 🤯 THIS IS THE DRAMA TRACK AND FIELD NEEDS. 🎥- @NBCOlympics

35-YEAR-OLD DALILAH MUHAMMAD WINS 400MH NATIONAL TITLE IN HER FINAL SEASON!! 👑❤️ #USATFOutdoors

Kenny, if you’re listening:

MELISSA JEFFERSON-WOODEN DOUBLE NATIONAL CHAMP!! #USATFOutdoors 🥇10.65 100m (PB) 🥇21.84 200m (PB)

ALL THE WAY BACK. DONAVAN BRAZIER WINS THE US CHAMPIONSHIP. THE COMEBACK IS UNBELIEVABLE. Brazier leads high schoolers Cooper Lutkenhaus and Bryce Hoppel to Tokyo. #USATF coverage presented by @uarunning

Valarie Allman 71.45m MEET RECORD 2 throws remaining.

52.65s!!🔥 35-year-old Dalilah Muhammad 🇺🇸 wins the US women's 400mH title in a time of 52.65s! Olympic Silver Anna Cockrell was 2nd in 52.89s, while Jasmine Jones finished 3rd in 53.23s.

😤DONAVAN BRAZIER 1:42.16 PB TO WIN 800M NATIONAL TITLE!!!! 1:42.27 U18 WORLD RECORD FOR 16-YEAR-OLD COOPER LUTKENHAUS IN SECOND!!!

DONAVAN MF BRAZIER!!!

Absolutely unreal 🤯