Yomif Kejelcha broke the 2-hour marathon but got 2nd place. He's still happy

NPR reports that Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha ran the London Marathon in under two hours (1:59:41) on his debut, achieving a historic milestone—but finished second to Kenya's Sabastian Sawe, who became the first person ever to break the two-hour barrier. The article captures Kejelcha's perspective directly, noting his stated goal to run his next marathon a minute faster, framing the second-place finish as a positive despite missing the outright victory. NPR's reporting is corroborated by multiple outlets (BBC, NBC News, Runner's World), all confirming both Sawe's historic first-place finish and Kejelcha's under-2:00 second-place time in his marathon debut. Critical readers should note that while Kejelcha's achievement is genuinely historic—he's now the only person to complete his debut marathon under two hours—the framing emphasizes his optimism rather than any disappointment about finishing second to a faster time.