As many were preparing to welcome the New Year on Tuesday, Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet was busy breaking a world record. The 24-year-old, who won two Olympic gold medals in 2024, capped off her brilliant year by smashing her own women’s 5,000m road world record at the Cursa dels Nassos race in Barcelona, Spain.
Chebet clocked 13:54 to become the first woman to break the 14-minute mark for the distance on either track or road; her previous road record of 14:13 was set at the same race in 2023.
“I’m super happy as everything went according to plan,” Chebet said, per World Athletics. “I felt capable of running under 14, and I managed to do so.
“Two races in Barcelona and two world records; can I ask for more?”
According to World Athletics, the race was run in perfect weather conditions, allowing Chebet to produce her best. She ran alongside male athletes and finished 14th overall, sprinting over the finish line before celebrating with other runners.
Winning is no surprise to Kenyans after they have dominated their rivals this year. Chebet won the 5,000m and 10,000m races on the track at Paris 2024 while setting the 10,000m women’s world record in May.
“My focus for next year is to win gold medals over 5,000m and 10,000m at the World Championships in Tokyo,” she added.
Chebet’s latest world record is still pending the usual ratification procedure.
