The women’s 10,000m world record was broken on Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore. Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet, the reigning world XC champion, became the first woman to run under 29 minutes for 10K, with a shocking time of 28:54.14.
WORLD RECORD 👀
🇰🇪’s Beatrice Chebet smashes the women’s 10,000m world record and becomes the first woman in history to break 29 minutes on the track 😮💨
28:54.14* it is ‼️#DiamondLeague
*Subject to the usual ratification procedures pic.twitter.com/hgyxamClRH
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 25, 2024
Chebet broke the previous record of 29:01.03 by seven seconds, set by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey at the 2021 FBK Games in the Netherlands.
The 24-year-old finished ahead of the current world 10,000m champion, Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, who achieved a personal best of 29:05.92 at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene. The pace was set for a sub-29-minute result early on, but Chebet started to pull away with three laps to go and then poured herself into the final lap. This is her first world record on the track (pending ratification) and her first 10,000m race in four years.
Chebet is currently one of the biggest rising stars in Kenyan athletics, already winning three world titles in cross-country and road running. She is also the reigning Commonwealth Games champion on the track over 5,000m and will be one of the favourites to medal in both the 5,000m and 10,000m events in Paris later this summer.
“My target is to run 5,000m first, then 10,000m comes second,” Chebet told the media at the Pre Classic. “Because this is my first 10,000m outside the country to run, and I’m so happy to run 28, a world record.”
The 10,000m at the Prefontaine Classic served as the Kenyan Olympic 10,000m trials. The men’s 10,000m race at the Pre Classic was won by Daniel Mateiko in a world-leading time of 26:50.81.
For full results from Saturday’s Eugene Diamond League (Prefontaine Classic), check here.
