No Sawe-Kejelcha rematch as autumn calendar keeps them separate
By Luke Oluoch, May 29, 2026A highly anticipated meeting between the fastest marathon runners on earth, Sebastian Sawe, and Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha will not be taking place this year after the latter was announced for the Valencia Marathon on December 6, 2026, instead.
A statement from the Handbook of Running Marathon on Friday, May 29, 2026, confirmed the athlete among the star names to headline the event.
Spain’s start line
“The Ethiopian, who ran the fastest marathon debut in history last month with a 1:59:41 in London, will be on the start line in Spain on December 6,” the statement read.
The announcement turns what was first reported through his agent, Gianni Demadonna, into a sealed deal, and it lands one of the most coveted athletes in the sport on a course famously designed to produce fast times.
New marathon record holder Sebastian Sawe and Kejelcha were the standout performers with their record-breaking feats on April 26, 2026, during the London Marathon.
Kejelcha became the second man in history to run a marathon under two hours after clocking 1:59:41 to finish second at the 2026 London Marathon. He achieved the feat on his full marathon debut, ranking only 11 seconds behind the winner, Sawe, who recorded the fastest marathon time in history at 1:59:30.
Alongside Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, the three athletes were part of a historic day for marathon running, all clocking times under the former world record.
Different destinations
Whereas Kenya’s Sawe has been scheduled to compete in the Berlin Marathon in September 2026, Kejelcha will now return to the Spanish port city. The next venue for the star marathoners continues to generate immense buzz in the athletics world.
For Kejelcha in particular, his performance on his return to Valencia—the same streets where he smashed the half-marathon world record with a blistering 57:30 in October 2024—will be under intense scrutiny as pundits predict a possible lowering of the new records.
Considering he ran 1:59:41 on London’s more technical and demanding course, many athletics experts believe Valencia’s flat and lightning-fast layout could set the stage for another historic performance.
The course sits on one of the flattest profiles in world marathoning, with less than 30 metres of total elevation change across the full distance, and consistently produces some of the fastest times of the year.
The men’s course record of 2:01:48 was set by Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma in December 2023, a mark that suddenly feels very much in play with Kejelcha confirmed to be racing.