Beatrice Chebet made history by becoming the first woman to run 10,000 meters on the track in under 29 minutes, completing the race in 28 minutes, 54 seconds, and 14 microseconds.
The performance, achieved on Saturday May 25 at the Prefontaine Classic, is seven seconds faster than the previous world record of 29:01.03 that Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia achieved in 2021.
Chebet now qualifies for Paris Olympic Games, where she plans to contest in both the 5000m and 10,000m races.
After only her second ever 10,000m race, Chebet adds this world record to the 2023 world 5km record she set at the Cursa dels Nassos road race in Barcelona.
The 24-year-old crossed the line in 14 minutes 13 seconds, beating Ethiopian Senbere Teferi’s women-only record by 16 seconds.
Chebet also finished six seconds faster than the women’s world record in a mixed race, set by Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye at the 2021 Cursa dels Nassos.
Athletic Career of Beatrice Chebet
In October 2023 Chebet completed a world title double, claiming the first gold medal of the inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23.
She led a Kenyan top two in the women’s 5km, clocking 14:35 for a time just six seconds off the women-only world record.
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Chebet won her first international medal at the 2017 world u20 championship in Athletics, taking home silver in the 3000 meters.
The world cross country Champion also made history at the 2018 World U20 Championships in Athletics held in Tampere, Finland.
By winning the 5000 meters title, she became the first Kenyan woman to achieve this feat and the first non-Ethiopian since 2006 to win the event.
She claimed victory at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in the Under-20 category and also won the Kenyan U20 National Cross-Country Championships.
Further, Chebet made her Olympic debut in 2021 where she finished sixth in the 5000 meters.
She later got her first world medal in 2022, when she took bronze in the 5000 meters at the World Indoor Championships in Athletics and became Commonwealth, African and Diamond League champion.
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Also, the marathoner won the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, clocking 33:43 and the 5000 meters at the Diamond League Meeting in Rome, Italy, in a time of 14:30.87.
Chebet’s Family and Education
Beatrice Chebet was born on March 5, 2000, in Kenya to Francis and Lilian Kirui. Her sister, Sandra Chebet, has also competed in various track and field events, including the World U20 Championships.
Beatrice Chebet joined Saramerk Secondary High School in Londiani, Kericho County, before moving to Lemotit Athletics Club in 2013 to pursue her dream of becoming a track and field athlete.
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