Sabastian Sawe given hero’s welcome in Kenya after sub-two hour marathon feat

Hugged, cheered and adorned with garlands, the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours has returned as a hero to his home village in Kenya . Sabastian Sawe, who stunned the world when he clocked 1h 59m 30s in the London Marathon last weekend, flew in a Kenyan military plane normally reserved for special operations on Thursday to his home region of western Kenya. Waiting on the runway at a small airport perched on an escarpment 2,150 metres above sea level, Lydia Sawe was trembling with anxious excitement, hands clasped around a huge bouquet of orange roses, as her husband’s aircraft touched down. The plane door opened and the 31-year-old runner locked eyes with his wife and, beaming, made a beeline for her arms. “Congratulations, darling,” she whispered in his ear, tears streaming down her face. Lydia Sawe greets her husband, Sabastian, off the military plane. Photograph: Ed Ram/ Sawe, who broke the world record by 65 seconds, signed a visitor book in the little VIP lounge at Eldoret airport and hugged a line of ecstatic friends and locals. He was given a wreath made from the sinendet plant, which symbolises victory within his Kalenjin ethnic group, and fed fermented milk from a gourd by Lydia to celebrate his win. Sawe’s wife, Lydia, gives him fermented milk from a gourd on arrival in Eldoret. …