By Chris Chavez
December 31, 2024
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet, the Olympic champion in the 5000m and 10,000m, broke her own road 5K world record in 13:54 at the Cursa Dels Nassos race in Barcelona, Spain on New Year’s Eve.
Here’s what you need to know:
– The previous world record was 14:13 set by Chebet at the same race last year. She took 19 seconds off that record on Tuesday afternoon.
– World Athletics has been keeping track of the road 5K world record since 2017.
– The 24-year-old is the first woman to break 14:00 for 5K on the track or roads. Her track 5000m personal best is 14:05.92 from September 2023, which puts her at No. 3 on the all-time list behind world record holder Gudaf Tsegay (14:00.21) and Olympic silver medalist and former world record holder Faith Kipyegon (14:05.20).
– Chebet finished 11th overall among all men and women in the race. You can watch the race replay here.
– This caps a career-defining year for Chebet that included gold medals at the World Cross Country Championships and the 5000m and 10,000m at the Paris Olympics. In June, she broke the 10,000m world record on the track in 28:54.14. She also won the 2024 Diamond League 5000m title in a world-leading 14:09.52.
– Despite the success, Chebet was not named a finalist for World Athletics’ Female Athlete Of The Year. The track award was given to 400m hurdles Olympic champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Olympic 100m champion and Olympic 200m silver medalist Julien Alfred was the other finalist for the track honors.
– On the latest episode of The CITIUS MAG Podcast, we awarded Chebet with our Female Track Athlete of The Year title.
– In 2025, Chebet will be after her first World Championship gold medal on the track. At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, she earned a bronze medal in the 5000m. Kipyegon has the bye for the World Championships as the reigning champion, which means Kenya can send up to four athletes in the women’s 5000m.
– Ethiopia’s Medina Eisa was the second woman across the finish line in Barcelona in 14:23, which puts her at No. 4 on the world all-time road 5K list and No. 2 on the Ethiopian all-time list. Uganda’s Belinda Chemutai broke the Ugandan national record and moved to No. 15 on the world all-time list with her third place finish in 14:36.
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
