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

Early life

From

Eldoret Eldoret is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Located in western Kenya and lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about at the Eldoret International Air ...

, 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 Gillette College is a two-year community college in Gillette, Wyoming. The college is the eighth and newest community college in the state of Wyoming, separating from the Northern Wyoming Community College District in August of 2021. The newly f ...

before later transferring to

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

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 The Drake Relays is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium (Drake University), Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it is regarded as one ...

. After leaving College, he became an Under Armour/District TC athlete based in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

area. In 2022, he had a fourth-place finish in the 800 metres at the Kenyan World Championship Trials in

Kasarani Kasarani is a mixed-use neighbourhood in northeast Nairobi. Kasarani is also used in reference to the city's second most populated sub-county with the same name, encompasing various neighbourhoods in the northeastern areas of Nairobi. Located ...

. He later became a member of UA Mission Run Dark Sky and became based in

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831. Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...

. In March 2025, he ran 3:52.64 for the indoor mile in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, clocking an indoor personal best of 3:37.52 for the 1500 metres. He was selected for the

2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships The 20th World Athletics Indoor Championships were held from 21 to 23 March 2025 in Nanjing, People's Republic of China, at the newly built Nanjing's Cube gymnasium in the Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park. Nanjing was originally due to host the ...

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

in March 2025, Kenya's sole representative in the men’s 1500 metres race. In May 2025, he ran a personal best 3:32.06 to finish third in the 1500 metres at the

2025 Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat The 2025 Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat was the 16th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Rabat, Morocco. Held on 25 May at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Olympic Annex Stadium, it was the fourth leg of ...

, part of the

2025 Diamond League The 2025 Diamond League is the sixteenth season of the annual series of outdoor track and field meetings, organised by World Athletics. The competition is a revision to the top level athletics series since Diamond League foundation in 2010. Th ...

. He competed over 1500 metres at the

2025 Meeting de Paris The 2025 Meeting de Paris was the 30th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Paris, France. Held on 20 June at the Stade Sébastien Charléty, it was the eighth leg of the 2025 Diamond League – the highest level international ...

, running a personal best time of 3:29.03. He ran a personal best of 3:48.93 at the

2025 Prefontaine Classic The 2025 Prefontaine Classic was the 50th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was held on 5 July May at Hayward Field, it was the 9th leg of the 2025 Diamond League – the highest-level int ...

on 5 July in the Bowerman Mile.

References

1996 births Living people Kenyan male middle-distance runners Iowa State Cyclones men's track and field athletes Kenyan emigrants to the United States Iowa State Cyclones men's cross country runners Athletes from Eldoret 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen {{Kenya-bio-stub