Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet smashes 5K world record

Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet concluded her remarkable year with another stellar performance, breaking the women’s world 5K record at the Cursa dels Nassos road race in Barcelona on Sunday. The 23-year-old Kenyan crossed the finish line in 14:13 (pending verification), shattering the previous women-only world record of 14:29 held by Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi since September 2021.

WORLD RECORD

🇰🇪's Beatrice Chebet ends 2023 on a high note as she smashes the world record* of the 5 kilometres on the road with 14:13 at the Cursa dels Nassos in Barcelona 😮‍💨

*Subject to the usual ratification procedures pic.twitter.com/DjsTFA3KPz

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 31, 2023

Chebet’s exceptional run not only surpassed the women’s world record but also improved on the women’s world record set in a mixed race (14:19) by Ethiopia’s Ejegayehu Taye at the 2021 Cursa dels Nassos.

This year’s field at Cursa dels Nassos was extraordinarily deep, with the top four women runners all dipping under previous world record. Taye followed Chebet in to secure silver in 14:21, and Kenya’s Lilian Kasait Rengeruk took third with 14:25. Uganda’s Joy Cheptoyek was fourth in 14:27. The top three athletes also all medaled in the 5K event at the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23 in October, with Chebet taking gold and Rengeruk and Taye winning silver and bronze, respectively.

1⃣4⃣ minuts i 1⃣2⃣ segons

✨ Beatrice Chebet fa història i registra el rècord del món de 5 quilòmetres en una prova femenina a la @Cursanassos

🔗 Segueix el podi de la cursa: https://t.co/p6dGJw8wtH pic.twitter.com/uPMIsMEeeK

— btv esports (@btvesports) December 31, 2023

In February 2023 Chebet secured the world cross-country crown in Bathurst, Australia. It was her second straight individual gold in XC after taking the U20 title four years ago in Denmark.

She followed that with a world 5,000m bronze at the 2023 world championships in Budapest in August. In September, she ran what was then the third-fastest 5,000m time in history at the Diamond League final in Eugene, Ore., finishing second behind Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay in 14:05.92.