Record-breaking Cameroonian marathon runner Afowiri Kizito Fondzenyuy who is globally known as the Toghu Marathoner, has donated the traditional Toghu outfit he wore during his Guinness World Record marathon performance to the National Museum in Yaounde.
Fondzenyuy donned the traditional attire and made history at the Tokyo Marathon in Japan last year where he completed the race in 4 hours, 24 minutes, and 2 seconds, earning him the Guinness World Record for the fastest man running in cultural dress. The record also earned him the Abbott Word Marathon Majors Six Star Medal.
During the official donation ceremony bathed in traditional colours and fanfare at the National Museum in Yaounde on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, the US-based long distance runner expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Arts and Culture and the National Museum for accepting the gift – the outfit and the certificate.
“This is a legacy”, he said. “This is telling the story for the present and the future. It’s not about me. There’s no other place that you can have this relic reside in other than the National Museum where everybody can come there and either be encouraged to run or promote their culture in one way or the other”, Fondzenyuy donned explained.
On behalf of the Minister of Arts and Culture, the Secretary General in the Ministry, Prof. Blaise Jacque Nkene who chaired the official donation ceremony appreciated the donation and the remarkable achievements of the marathoner.
He said the gesture by the marathoner “is an opportunity to Cameroonians to strengthen their living-together” before stating that all measures have been taken to preserve the artifacts.
While most marathoners are after medals, Fondzenyuy runs for a different purpose – to build a better future for underprivileged children back home. What he carries more dearly, he told reporters at the event, is caring for kids with autism, a serious development disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact.
“Most of all, what I’m really passionate about is autism. I was very surprised to realize that there are almost 800,000 kids in Cameroon who are in the spectrum and who do not have the necessary attention,” the Toghu Marathoner regretted. “My mission is through marathons to make sure that we all; parents, teachers, everybody, the community at large; understand these kids and that they get the intervention they need at an earlier age”, he said.
