Festus Lagat

Festus Lagat is a Kenyan middle-distance runner.

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.

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.
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. He later became a member of UA Mission Run Dark Sky and became based in Flagstaff, Arizona.
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. 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. 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], part of the 2025 Diamond League. He competed over 1500 metres at the 2025 Meeting de Paris, running a personal best time of 3:29.03. He ran a personal best of 3:48.93 at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic on 5 July in the Bowerman Mile.