Monday, December 15, 2025 - Kenya has once again made global headlines after environmental activist, Truphena Muthoni, earned a coveted spot in the Guinness World Records for her extraordinary tree-hugging feat.
Muthoni hugged a tree continuously for 48 hours as part of a
climate awareness campaign and was officially recognized on December 1st,
2025.
She has since attempted an even more daring 72-hour record,
which is currently under review.
Her achievement highlights Kenya’s growing influence in
environmental activism and places her among an illustrious group of
record-breaking icons.
Eliud Kipchoge,
widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, stunned the world
in 2019 by becoming the first man to run a marathon in under two hours during
the INEOS 1:59 Challenge.
Guinness World Records recognized the
feat as the “First marathon distance run under two hours.” Although not
ratified by World Athletics due to special pacing arrangements, Kipchoge’s
achievement at age 34 remains one of the most celebrated moments in sports
history.
David Rudisha
holds the men’s 800m world record of 1:40.91, set at the London 2012 Olympics
when he was just 23 years old.
His flawless front-running performance
is considered one of the greatest Olympic track moments ever and cemented his
place in Guinness World Records.
Faith Kipyegon,
hailed as the greatest female 1500m runner of all time, continues to dominate
middle-distance running.
She has won three consecutive Olympic
gold medals and four World Championship titles.
On July 5, 2025, she set a
Guinness-recognized world record of 3:48.68 at the Prefontaine Classic in
Eugene, Oregon, becoming the first woman to run the 1500m in under 3 minutes
and 49 seconds.
Trailblazer Tegla Lorupe remains
celebrated for her multiple long-distance records and humanitarian work.
She currently holds three Guinness
records for the fastest female times over 20,000m, 25,000m, and 30,000m.
Lorupe also made history as the first
African woman to hold the marathon world record, setting new records in 1998 (2:20:47 in
Rotterdam) and improving it in 1999 (2:20:43 in Berlin) before it was broken in
2001, inspiring generations of athletes.
Other Kenyan athletes who have etched
their names in Guinness history include Daniel Komen, who set the 3,000m
world record in 1996; Paul Kosgei, who broke the 25km record in 2004; Hillary
Kimaiyo, who set the 10km road race record in 2009; and the late Samuel
Wanjiru, who broke the half-marathon record in 2007.
Beyond athletics, Kenya’s
record-breaking spirit shines in education.
Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge
became the oldest person to start primary school at the age of 84 in 2004.
His inspiring journey led him to
address the United Nations in 2005 and later became the subject of the
acclaimed film The First Grader.
In agriculture, Joseph Love set
a unique Guinness record in 1992 by hand-milking 531 litres of milk from 30
cows in just 24 hours, showcasing Kenya’s farming heritage.
In sports innovation, Alikhan Kazia
holds three Guinness titles for table tennis trick shots. At 22, he set records
for most ping pong balls bounced into a cup in one minute (17), fastest time
bouncing balls into five cups, and most table tennis serves into a cup in one
minute (13).
Finally, culinary star Maliha
Mohammed from Mombasa holds the Guinness World Record for the longest home
kitchen cooking marathon.
In August 2023, she cooked non-stop for
90 hours and 15 minutes, blending Swahili, Indian, and Middle Eastern cuisines.
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