Marathoner Sabastian Sawe has gifted President William Ruto the very pair of shoes that carried him through his record-breaking run.
The handover took place during a celebratory event at State House in Nairobi, where Sawe gifted the autographed Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 as a symbol of his historic achievement.
More than a personal keepsake, the gesture transformed the shoes into a national artefact, a physical reminder of the race that reshaped marathon history.
“These are the shoes that carried me through that race,” Sawe said. “I want you to have them as a symbol of what we can achieve as a nation.”
World record marathon holder Sabastian Sawe gifts President Ruto the shoes he ran in. pic.twitter.com/YZ25TF9y5S
— The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) April 30, 2026
The significance of the shoes had already been sealed moments after the finish line at the London Marathon. Fresh off his groundbreaking run, Sawe signed them, marking the exact time and achievement in bold ink.
“1:59:30 WR sub 2,” he wrote, holding them up to cameras in an image that quickly went global.
The performance itself shifted attention from the stopwatch to the technology on his feet.
The Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, released just days earlier on April 23, 2026, weighs just over 97 grams, making it Adidas’ lightest racing shoe.
The model features Lightstrike Pro Evo foam, engineered for higher energy return while remaining significantly lighter than previous compounds, alongside a redesigned carbon system aimed at improving propulsion.
Adidas says the shoe delivers a 1.6 per cent improvement in running economy, a marginal gain that can prove decisive at elite level. The model is also about 30 per cent lighter than its predecessor, reflecting the sport’s growing reliance on engineering and biomechanics.
Sawe’s run, the first official sub-two-hour marathon in open race conditions, cements his place in history while reinforcing Kenya’s dominance in distance running.
His reward is expected to total about £263,000 (Sh45 million), combining prize money and performance bonuses.