Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay sets 5,000m world record, nearly breaking 14 minutes
Tsegay won the Diamond League Final in a world record 14:00.20

On Sunday afternoon at the Diamond League final in Eugene, Ore., world 10,000m champion Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia almost achieved the unthinkable: breaking the women’s 5,000m world record in 14:00.20 and nearly becoming the first woman in history to run a 5K under 14 minutes.
WORLD RECORD! 🤯🚨
Gudaf Tsegay smashes the women's 5,000m world record with a time of 14:00.21 to become Diamond League champion pic.twitter.com/VamuEr3PWr
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) September 17, 2023
Tsegay surpassed the previous 5,000m world record of 14:05.20, which was set by her rival Faith Kipyegon earlier this year at the Paris Diamond League, by five seconds, battling with world cross-country champion Beatrice Chebet until the final three laps, when the Ethiopian pulled ahead.
The pace for the 5,000m final was set for 14:00 flat, with the pacers taking Tsegay and Chebet through 3,000m in 8:26.03. Tsegay threw down a 2:09 final 800m to shake off Chebet and become the first woman to seriously threaten the 14-minute 5K barrier. Chebet finished second behind Tsegay in 14:05.92, the third-fastest time in history. Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye rounded out the Diamond League 5,000m final podium in 14:21.52. Kipyegon chose to run the 1,500m on Saturday and did not enter the women’s 5,000m at the Prefontaine Classic.

Tsegay had an up-and-down 2023 season, winning the world 10,000m title in Budapest, then finishing a disappointing 13th in the world 5,000m final a few days later.
This is the second world record of Tsegay’s career. In 2021, she ran an indoor 1,500m world record of 3:53.09 in France.