Kenyan stars Beatrice Chebet and Faith Kipyegon made history at the Eugene Diamond League, also known as the Prefontaine Classic, after both shattered world records in their respective events on Saturday evening.
Chebet, a double Olympic gold medallist, became the first woman to run the 5000m in under 14 minutes, clocking a stunning 13:58.06. Her performance erased the previous world record held by Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay by 2.15 seconds. Chebet was closely followed during the race by Tsegay and fellow Kenyan Agnes Jebet Ngetich, but she powered away with a strong finish in the last 200 meters.
Chebet maintained a world record pace from the start. She hit the 1000m mark in 2:47.07, passed 2000m in 5:35.37, and crossed 3000m at 8:22.96—slightly ahead of the pace required for a sub-14-minute finish. At 4000m, she was still on track at 11:14.12, and with one final push, she pulled clear and stormed to the finish.
“I’m so happy to be the first woman to go under 14 minutes,” said an excited Chebet. “After running 14:03 in Rome, I believed I could do it. I told myself, if Faith is chasing a record in Eugene, why not me too?”
Just over an hour later, it was Faith Kipyegon’s turn to shine. The multiple Olympic and world champion delivered a new 1500m world record of 3:48.68, improving the mark she set last year in Paris by 0.36 seconds.
Kipyegon stayed close behind the pacemaker through 400m (1:01.61) and 800m (2:03.17), while Australia’s Jessica Hull kept the pressure on. But with 300m to go, Kipyegon surged ahead and never looked back, powering to the line nearly three seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, who came second in 3:51.44. Hull placed third in 3:52.67.
There was almost a third world record on the night. Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi, the reigning world and Olympic steeplechase champion, came close to the 3000m steeplechase world record, winning the race in 8:45.25, the third-fastest time ever.
Kenya’s Faith Cherotich was second in 8:48.71 and Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai took third in 8:51.77. For the first time in history, five women finished the steeplechase in under nine minutes.
It was a golden night for Kenyan athletics—one that will be remembered for years.
