In a race that was set up as a 10.000m world record attempt, the competitor who initially had no intention of challenging the record became the one ultimately to smash it.
The record now belongs to Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, who ran 28:54.14 to become the first woman under 29 minutes on the track. That performance, achieved on Saturday (25) at the Prefontaine Classic, is seven seconds faster than the previous world record of 29:01.03 that Letesenbet Gidey established in 2021.
Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay became the third-fastest all-time performer with her runner-up finish of 29:05.92, as four women ran faster than 30 minutes. The race also doubled as the selection race for Athletics Kenya’s Paris Olympic team, and Chebet and Lilian Kasait Rengeruk (29:26.89) qualified.
