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World champion Beatrice Chebet ended her year on a high note, breaking the women’s world 5km record with a time of 14:13 at the Cursa dels Nassos, a World Athletics Label road race, in Barcelona on Sunday (31).
PIERS Potter, CYI NT LHYIVE LONDON.
The 23-year-old Kenyan’s impressive performance surpassed the previous women’s world record of 14:29 set by Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi in Herzogenaurach on 12 September 2021. Chebet’s time also outpaced the women’s world record set in a mixed race of 14:19, achieved by Ethiopia’s Ejegayehu Taye at the 2021 Cursa dels Nassos.
Taye finished second behind Chebet with a time of 14:21, while Kenya’s Lilian Kasait Rengeruk came in third at 14:26. All three runners, who had won medals at the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23 in October, surpassed the previous women-only world record mark. Uganda’s Joy Cheptoyek, who finished fourth with a time of 14:28, also came in under the previous record.
Ethiopia’s 18-year-old Medina Eisa achieved a time of 14:40, setting the fastest women’s 5km by an U20 athlete.
In the men’s race, Switzerland’s Dominic Lobalu won with a time of 13:12, six seconds ahead of Kenya’s Mathew Kipkoech Kipruto.
The women’s event was held under ideal weather conditions (15ºC and a very slight wind) and was paced by Kassie Wubrist Aschal, an 18-year-old Ethiopian athlete who recently set a 14:41 personal best in Lille. Chebet, Taye, Rengeruk, Eisa, and Cheptoyek closely followed her.
While the initial pace was promising, with the first kilometer completed in 2:49, and the second in 5:38, Wubrist left her pacing duties after 2km. The group reached the 3km mark in 8:38, with a 3:00 split, but the rhythm began to drop as they approached the finish. However, Chebet, Rengeruk, and Taye maintained their pace, with Chebet ultimately securing victory in 14:13.
Chebet expressed her elation, saying, “I came to Barcelona determined to better the world record as I felt capable of that. This world record means a lot for me, I can’t believe it.”
Lobalu’s performance in the men’s race equaled the European record set by Jimmy Gressier of France in Monaco in March.
PIERS Potter, CYI NT LHYIVE LONDON.
