Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet has finally secured the one accolade missing from her glittering career a World Championship gold medal after storming to victory in the women’s 10,000m on the opening day of competition in Tokyo. The 25-year-old, who already boasts two Olympic titles, a Commonwealth Games crown, and two World Cross Country Championships victories, admitted that despite her decorated career she still felt incomplete until she stood atop the podium at the World Championships.
Chebet, who had previously won silver in the 5,000m in Eugene in 2022 and bronze over the same distance in Budapest in 2023, achieved her breakthrough moment with a determined final push in Tokyo. With 200m remaining, she surged past defending champion Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia to claim victory in 30 minutes and 37.61 seconds. The win makes her the first Kenyan woman in a decade to capture the 10,000m world title and sets her on course to potentially achieve the historic 5,000m–10,000m double, a feat only previously accomplished by Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot.
“I came for nothing short of a gold medal and that’s what I was going to take home,” Chebet told BBC Sport Africa. “I was ready to die on the line because becoming a world champion is all that mattered.” The determination was clear as she left a world-class field trailing, further cementing her place as one of the most dominant long-distance runners of her generation.
Chebet’s latest triumph adds to a remarkable list of achievements that already includes setting multiple world records. In 2023, she became the first woman to run under 29 minutes in the 10,000m with a time of 28:54.14 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. Just this year, she became the first female athlete to break the 14-minute barrier in the 5,000m, clocking 13:58.06 at Hayward Field. Those records, alongside her Olympic and cross-country victories, have marked her as one of the sport’s most consistent history-makers.
Reflecting on her journey, Chebet noted that it has been “over eight years since I started my career as a junior athlete. I was running the 5,000m in over 16 minutes, but I trusted the process, remained focused on my crazy dreams, and now I stand as a world record holder.” For her, each record and medal is more than just a personal triumph; it is a statement to young girls that barriers can be broken and dreams achieved.
Her next target is to emulate Vivian Cheruiyot, Kenya’s only woman to secure the 5,000m–10,000m double at the World Championships, which she achieved in Daegu in 2011. Chebet recently met her idol during the Kenyan national trials, describing Cheruiyot as “one of the most decorated athletes with remarkable achievements.” Chebet added, “I really admired her running style and spirit of winning every race. Learning that I’m the first Kenyan to win the 10,000m world title since she last did it in Beijing was so inspiring.”
The World Championships narrative is now building toward a potential showdown between Chebet and fellow Kenyan superstar Faith Kipyegon in the 5,000m. Kipyegon, the reigning world champion and Olympic gold medallist, is also chasing history by attempting another 1500m–5,000m double. The two last faced off at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where Chebet edged Kipyegon to take gold. Their rivalry, coupled with Gudaf Tsegay’s presence, is expected to make the 5,000m final one of the most electrifying races of the championships.
Chebet, however, remains focused and motivated. “I want to inspire young girls the same way I have been inspired by other great women to never stop chasing their dreams,” she said. “We don’t have to limit ourselves. I have come to realize it is possible to do more and break barriers.”
With her first world title now secured, her sights set on joining an elite group of double champions, and her rivalry with Kipyegon poised to capture global attention, Beatrice Chebet has firmly established herself not only as a record-breaking athlete but also as a trailblazer rewriting the history of women’s distance running.
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