Red-hot Shida Leni resets national 400m record in Nairobi

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Women's 400m

Mercy Adongo Oketch (KEN) 50.14           

Shida Leni (UGA) 50.93  

Mercy Chebet (KEN) 51.52

Uganda’s Shida Leni shattered her own national 400m record for the second time this year, clocking 50.93 seconds to finish second at the Absa Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour in Nairobi on Saturday.

Running in lane six, Leni, who had earlier this April lowered her national record to 51.25 seconds in the same city, shaved off another 0.32 seconds to reaffirm Nairobi as a happy hunting ground.

The race, part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series, was won by Kenya’s Mercy Adongo Oketch in a swift 50.14 seconds. Compatriot Mercy Chebet came in third with a time of 51.52.

Held at the Ulinzi Sports Complex, the Kip Keino Classic continues to attract elite athletes from across Africa and beyond. Now in its sixth edition, the one-day meet has become one of East Africa’s premier athletics competitions, offering both prize money and world ranking points.

Ugandan Haron Adoli reorded a personal best during the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya on May 31, 2025.

Leni has been under the guidance of coaches Kevin and Sue O'Connor since 2013, with additional support from her London-based manager Jeff Freeman. Kevin O’Connor said her record-breaking performance was not unexpected.

“Shida has been achieving PBs (personal bests) weightlifting in the gym, and at track sessions at Mandela National Stadium. So a 400m PB was on the cards, indicating that this national record was possible,” he noted.

Meanwhile, fellow Ugandan Haron Adoli also impressed in the men’s 400m Heat A, clocking a personal best of 45.21 seconds.

Adoli, like Leni, had travelled to Nairobi with the goal of meeting the tough qualifying standards for the 2025 World Athletics Championships scheduled for September in Tokyo.