Doris Lemngole in a previous race/ TEDDY MULEI
The 2025 World Athletics breakout star, Doris Lemngole, will fire the opening shot of her 2026 campaign on February 1, lining up for an Indoor 3,000m at the Millrose Games in New York.
The 23-year-old Kenyan is widely regarded as one of the standout performers of the 2025 season, particularly in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, where she announced herself as a force on the global stage.
Her forays onto the indoor circuit last season delivered immediate dividends.
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Competing for the University of Alabama, the versatile distance runner lit up her campaign by storming to victory in the 3,000m at the Orange and Purple Invitational in 8:54.65.
She followed that statement run with another polished performance over 5,000m, claiming the NCAA Division I indoor title in 15:05.93.
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That solid grounding indoors laid the perfect platform for a blistering Outdoor season.
Lemngole emphatically opened her outdoor campaign, dominating the 3,000m steeplechase at the Wake Forest Invitational in 9:10.13 before adding the 5,000m title at the Southern Conference Championships in 15:11.62.
The defining moment of her season arrived on June 14 at the NCAA Championships, where she surged to victory in a then world-leading 8:58.15, leaving Americans Lexy Halladay (9:08.68) and Angelina Napoleon (9:16.66) trailing in her wake.
Lemngole’s form earned her a call-up to the global stage, where she donned the Kenyan singlet at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, narrowly missing the podium after placing fifth in 9:02.39.
Faith Cherotich claimed the world title in 8:51.59, ahead of Kenyan-born Bahraini Winfred Yavi (8:56.46) and Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew (8:58.86).
Her golden year was emphatically sealed on November 21 when she crowned a flawless campaign by winning the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 18:25.4.
That victory completed an impressive NCAA treble for Lemngole, adding the cross-country crown to her indoor 5,000m and steeplechase titles, a feat that cemented her status as one of collegiate athletics’ brightest stars.
Those performances culminated in her being named the 2025 Bowerman Award winner, the most prestigious individual honour in the NCAA, reserved for athletes whose seasons redefine excellence, consistency and dominance across the collegiate landscape.
However, Lemngole will face a stern test at Millrose, with 19-year-old American sensation Jane Hedengren also in the field.
Hedengren shattered nine high school records in 2025, including the indoor and outdoor mile, the outdoor two-mile and both the indoor and outdoor 5,000m.
She also has the collegiate 5,000m record in 14:44.79, set in 2025.