Kenya’s Ezra Kipchumba Kering on Saturday clinched the men’s title at the 11th edition of the Lagos City Marathon, finishing the 42-kilometre race in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 55 seconds.
Kering braved rainy conditions to secure gold, narrowly missing the course record set in 2020 by one minute and 32 seconds.
His winning time was an improvement on the mark posted by fellow Kenyan Koech Edwin Kibet at the 2025 edition, shaving more than two minutes off last year’s performance.
However, Kering’s time remains over 10 minutes behind the current world marathon record of 2:00:35 set by compatriot Kelvin Kiptum at the Chicago Marathon in 2023.
The 40-year-old becomes the fourth consecutive Kenyan to win the Lagos race and the sixth Kenyan champion in the past seven editions, further underlining the country’s dominance in the men’s category since the marathon began in 2016.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Meseret Dinke delivered a commanding performance, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 37 minutes and 36 seconds. The victory marks her third Lagos title, having previously won in 2019 and 2021. Ethiopian athletes have now won every women’s title at the event since 2018.
Among the Nigerian contenders, Boyi Solomon Nyango emerged as the first Nigerian male finisher with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes and 32 seconds.
Deborah Pam Badung led the Nigerian women, completing the race in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 46 seconds to finish as the top local female athlete.
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.