Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet once again proved her dominance in distance running, setting a world-leading time of 14:09.52 in the 5000m at the Zurich Diamond League.
Chebet, the reigning Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champion from Paris 2024, delivered a stunning performance, though she narrowly missed her goal of breaking the world record.
Chebet’s blistering start saw her pass the 3000m mark in 8:25.77, ahead of Gudaf Tsegay’s split when she set the current world record of 14:00.21 last year in Eugene.
However, with two laps remaining, Chebet found herself running alone after the pacemakers dropped out earlier than expected. Despite having the support of wavelight technology and a sold-out crowd of 30,000 cheering her on, the Kenyan couldn’t maintain the pace for the remainder of the race.
“I really wanted to run the world record, but the pacemaker dropped out earlier than planned. It was not easy after that,” Chebet said, reflecting on the challenge of completing the race solo.
Still, Chebet’s time smashed the Zurich meet record by a remarkable 21 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 14:30.10 set by compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot in 2011.
Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye, the world 10,000m bronze medalist, finished a distant second with a time of 14:28.76, while fellow Ethiopian Tsigie Gebreselama took third in 14:39.05.
Although Chebet’s world record attempt fell short, her world-leading performance cements her status as one of the greatest distance runners of the current generation.
