A graduate of the University of Lagos, Ololade Ayelabola, has been officially certified by the Guinness World Records for the longest distance walked on a catwalk by a model.
GWR made the announcement in a post on its website on Monday.
The article read, “The longest distance walked on a catwalk by a model is 125.11 km (77.74 mi) and was achieved by Ololade Ayelabola (Nigeria), in Lagos, Nigeria on 1 October 2024.
“Ololade attempted this record to inspire others and challenge fashion students.”
Her attempt, which was held at the Indoor Sports Center of UNILAG, surpassed the previous record of 114.4 kilometres which was set over 40 years ago in 1983 by Roberta Brown and Lorraine McCourt in Dublin, Ireland.
Celebrating her win in a post on Instagram, the model urged people to pursue their dreams fearlessly and make them a reality.
“Dare to dream and make your dream a reality,” she said.
During the walk, Ayelabola reportedly modelled outfits from Nigerian designers, including a collection from the UNILAG Theater Arts Department.
Ayelabola who was a student at the time of the attempt now holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Lagos.
It was reported in 2024 that the ex-beauty queen said her inspiration for the record-breaking challenge stemmed from the discrimination and disqualification that models face during auditions, despite their talent.
“What prompted me to attempt this is the stereotyping I’ve noticed in the fashion industry. In modelling, there’s this idea that if you’re not a certain height or don’t look a certain way, you can’t succeed. I have seen many talented models sidelined because of these biases,” she said.
