KEY POINTS

• Kenyan and Ethiopian runners once again dominated, with Ezra Kipchumba Kerin and Meseret Dinke winning the men’s and women’s races.
• The Lagos City Marathon marked its 11th edition, continuing its rise as one of Africa’s premier road races with strong international participation.
• Officials and sponsors praised the organisation, infrastructure, and growing global reputation of the event while calling for increased youth participation and investment.

East African runners once again stamped their authority on the Lagos City Marathon, with Kenya’s Ezra Kipchumba Kerin and Ethiopia’s Meseret Dinke emerging champions of the 2026 edition.

Kerin delivered a composed and tactical performance to win the men’s race in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 55 seconds, breaking away from a competitive elite pack and finishing strongly at Eko Atlantic City. In the women’s event, Dinke showed resilience and endurance to secure victory in 2 hours, 37 minutes, 36 seconds, maintaining a steady pace despite damp conditions.

Their triumph mirrors the previous year’s results, when Kenya’s Edwin Kibet and Ethiopia’s Guta Meseret Hirpa clinched the top prizes in their respective categories, reinforcing the long-standing dominance of East African distance runners in global road racing.

11 Years of Growth and Global Recognition

Now in its 11th year, the marathon has evolved into one of Africa’s most prestigious road races. Since its launch in 2016, it has drawn elite athletes and amateur runners from across the world while promoting fitness, tourism, and community participation.

Despite light rain on race morning, the 42-kilometre elite race began promptly at 6:30 a.m. from Orca Mall on Ahmadu Bello Way.

The course wound through major Lagos routes before ending along the Atlantic coastline, where spectators lined the finishing stretch to cheer runners.

The race is also known for its attractive prize purse, historically set at $50,000 for winners, making it one of the continent’s most lucrative marathons.

Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, described the event as one of the cleanest races hosted in the state and called for deeper investment and collaboration to sustain its growth.

He linked the marathon’s success to the renewed optimism under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Dikko also noted that Works Minister Dave Umahi had initially doubted the feasibility of using the coastal highway route, but the smooth staging of the race demonstrated the road’s quality.