Newly-crowned 10,000-meter world record holder Beatrice Chebet is aiming for a double at the Paris Olympic Games, planning to compete in both the 5000m and 10,000m races.
Chebet shattered the 10,000-meter world record at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on Saturday. The 24-year-old, a two-time world 5000m race medalist and World Cross Country champion, outpaced Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay to clock 28:54.14.
This broke the previous record of 29:01.03 set by Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey in Hengelo on June 8, 2021, making her the first woman to run under 29 minutes. This marks Chebet’s second world record within a year, after setting a world 5km record of 14:13 at the Cursa dels Nassos road race in Barcelona, Spain, on December 31, 2023.
“I’m going to do a double in the Paris Olympics, but my target is the 5000-meter race first. I’m going to focus on 5km, then throw in a dice in the 10,000 meters,” Chebet stated.
She explained that she entered the meeting to qualify for Paris and did not initially aim for the world record. The race also served as the selection race for Athletics Kenya’s Paris Olympic team, where both Chebet and Lilian Kasait Rengeruk, who finished third with a time of 29:26.89, qualified.
“I was just running 10,000 meters to qualify for the Olympic Games. It is good to bring the world record home because the Ethiopians had initially taken the 5000m record from us,” Chebet noted.
Chebet was motivated by seeing world 5000-meter record-holder Tsegay, who had requested a world record pace, begin to fall behind the pace lights. “Gudaf had requested for a world record. I said let me give it a try and see how my body will respond. My body responded well, and I decided to go for it.”
The thrilling race saw Chebet and Gudaf ahead of the green wave light that indicated the world record pace. With 800 meters to go, Chebet sprinted ahead, leaving Gudaf behind and breaking the world record, making fans stand on their feet in excitement.
Having earned her Olympic ticket for the first time, Chebet is confident she can win the 10,000 meters gold medal and become the first Kenyan woman to achieve this feat.
“I’m happy because it is my first time to be in an Olympic team. I know with good health and preparations, I will conquer the world in Paris,” said an overjoyed Chebet.
