On the final day of 2024, double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet made history once again at the Cursa Dels Nassos 5K road race in Barcelona, Spain. The Kenyan won the race in 13 minutes and 54 seconds, becoming the first woman in history to run under 14 minutes over five kilometres.
💥 ¡Récord histórico!
▪️ Beatrice Chebet logra el récord del Mundo en la Cursa del Nassos de Barcelona con 13:54.
▪️Primera mujer que baja de los 14 minutos y revienta su récord mundial de hace un año en la misma carrera.
📽️ @BCN_esports pic.twitter.com/b6TM9tKMsu
— Relevo (@relevo) December 31, 2024
Chebet’s time is unprecedented and a huge mark for women’s athletics, as she lowered her own 5K world record set at the Cursa Dels Nassos race a year ago by 19 seconds. Her time placed her 11th overall and finished 29 seconds ahead of the second woman, Ethiopia’s Medina Eisa, who crossed the line in 14:23.
Chebet is the reigning Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion, becoming the third woman in history to win both events at the same Olympic Games. She also defended her world cross-country title in Belgrade, Serbia, last March.
Beatrice Chebet wins World XC gold after Letesenbet Gidey collapses at finish
What makes her time even more sensational is that she is the first woman to break the 14-minute barrier on any surface, also surpassing Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay’s 5,000m world record of 14:00.21.
The 24-year-old is no stranger to firsts in the sport: In May at the 2024 Pre Classic, Chebet broke Letesenbet Gidey’s 10,000m world record of 29:01.03 to become the first woman to break the 29-minute barrier, running 28 minutes and 54 seconds.
The top overall finisher at the Cursa Dels Nassos 5K, Matthew Kipkoech, crossed the line only 26 seconds ahead of Chebet.
Her time will remain unofficial as it undergoes World Athletics’ ratification process, and could be the first world record ratified in the new year.
