Edward Pingua Zakayo (born 25 November 2001) was a Kenyan male long-distance runner who competed in the 5000 metres. He was the bronze medallist in that event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. After being suspended due to multiple failures to be present for drug tests, he announced his retirement in 2025.https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/116889-adak-denies-responsibility-athlete-edward-zakayos-retirement-amid-claims-mistreatment
Born in Narok, Zakayo said his aim in his running career was to help his mother out of poverty and pay for his education.Edward Pingua ZAKAYO. Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-08. In 2017, he won the Kenyan youth trials and was selected for the 2017 IAAF World U18 Championships, where he took a silver medal over 3000 metres in front of a home crowd in Nairobi.Edward Zakayo Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2018-04-08.Report: boys' 3000m – IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017 . IAAF (2017-07-16). Retrieved 2018-04-08. On 11 June 2018, he won the Kenya World U20 trials with a new personal best of 13:19 to qualify for the U20 World Championships in Finland.
His win at the U20 World Champs while looking much older than his claimed age, attracted controversy as to if he'd lied about his age, and if he was really a Senior athlete, not a Junior.https://indeksonline.net/en/misteri-i-sportistit-kenian-a-mendoni-se-duket-si-17-vjecar/https://reporteri.net/en/sport/Believe-it-or-not--this-athlete-is-17-years-old./https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sports/sports/article/2001332893/kenyan-athlete-zakayo-downplays-criticism-over-his-age A problem Kenyan athletics has often faced.https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/amp/athletics/article/2001501276/kenya-shouldnt-bury-head-in-the-sand-over-age-cheating-scandal Additionally, his Senior career never ever lived up to his promise of his Junior performanceshttps://nation.africa/kenya/sports/athletics/world-u20-top-guns-that-rose-fast-and-faded-in-a-flash-4790900
International competitions 2017World U18 ChampionshipsNairobi, Kenya2nd3000 m7:49.172018Commonwealth GamesGold Coast, Australia3rd5000 m13:54.06World U20 ChampionshipsTampere, Finland1st5000 m13:20.16African ChampionshipsAsaba, Nigeria1st5000 m13:48.582019African U20 ChampionshipsAbidjan, Ivory Coast1st5000 m13:13.06African GamesRabat, Morocco2nd5000 m13:30.96
Personal bests Outdoor EventTimeDatePlace3000 m7:49.1716 July 2017Nairobi 5000 m13:03.196 June 2019Rome 10000m27:35.0725 June 2022Nairobi From World Athletics Profile
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