Festus Lagat

Festus Lagat

Personal information
Nationality	Kenyan
Born	(1996-10-10) 10 October 1996 (age 28)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Middle-distance running
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	800m: 1:44.10 (Fairfax, 2024) 1500m: 3:33.25 (Los Angeles, 2024) Mile: 3:52.63 (Raleigh, 2024) Indoors 800m: 1:47.09 (New York, 2023) 1500m: 3:37.32 (Boston, 2025) Mile: 3:52.64 (Boston, 2025)

Festus Lagat (born 10 October 1996) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner. ^[1]

Early life

From Eldoret, Kenya, he is the eldest of three boys. He moved to the United States on a scholarship to study and run competition, starting at Gillette College before later transferring to Iowa State University. ^[2]

Career

Running for Iowa State in April 2021, he was a member of the 4x800 metres relay team which set a new meeting record time at the Drake Relays. ^[3]

After leaving College, he became an Under Armour/District TC athlete based in the Washington, D.C. area. In 2022, he had a fourth-place finish in the 800 metres at the Kenyan World Championship Trials in Kasarani. ^[4] He later became a member of UA Mission Run Dark Sky and became based in Flagstaff, Arizona. ^[5]

In March 2025, he ran 3:52.64 for the indoor mile in Boston, Massachusetts, clocking an indoor personal best of 3:37.52 for the 1500 metres. ^{[6] [7]} He was selected for the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing in March 2025, Kenya's sole representative in the men’s 1500 metres race. ^{[8] [9]}

References

1. "Festus Lagat". World Athletics. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
2. "Meet the 2024 SWM Athletes: Festus Lagat". Sirwaltermiler. July 25, 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
3. Visser, Ben (April 23, 2021). "Drake Relays: Iowa State breaks 36-year-old 3,200-meter relay record". The Gazette. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
4. "Mile posts: Items on Festus Lagat, Josh Yeager, Adam Fogg, Jay Welp, Mike Gille, Reece Smith, Matt Lange". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
5. "Mile posts: Items on Chase Knoche, Alli Bookin-Nosbisch, Mallory Lindaman, Festus Lagat, Adam Fogg, Mattison Plummer, Payton Mauldin". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
6. "Last Chance National Qualifier At BU 2025 Results". Flotrack. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
7. "2025 Last Chance Indoor Nat'nl Qualifier at Boston Univ". tfrrs.org. March 2, 2025. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
8. "Kenya selects 10 athletes for Nanjing". World Athletics. 14 March 2025. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
9. "AK picks team for World Indoors in Nanjing, China". Citizen. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 15 March 2025.