Olympic Champion Chebet to face world record holder Gudaf Tsegay in Oregon
Beatrice Chebet is set for a high-stakes showdown with 5,000m world record holder Gudaf Tsegay at the 50th Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, which will also serve as Kenya’s trials for the 5,000m and 10,000m women’s teams to the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.
Double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet is set to clash with 5,000m world record holder Gudaf Tsegay at the 50th edition of the Prefontaine Classic, scheduled for July 5 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
The race will double as Athletics Kenya's selection trial for the women's 5,000m and 10,000m teams for the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, set for September 13–21.
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Chebet, 25, will return to the same track where she set the women's 10,000m world record last year with a time of 28:54.14, becoming the first woman ever to run the distance in under 29 minutes. She also holds the world record for the 5km road race, having completed it in 14:13 in Barcelona on December 31, 2023.
Chebet goes into the Eugene meet in hot-form, having recently won the Rome Diamond League 5,000m on June 6 with a time of 14:03.69. This was the season's fastest time and the second fastest ever recorded by a woman over the distance.
Although she has not explicitly declared a world record attempt in Eugene, Chebet has hinted at bigger ambitions for the race, as she aims to secure qualification for the Tokyo event.
"My training has been good and I'm in good shape...we shall see how the race will unfold," Chebet said in a past interview.
Standing in her way is Ethiopia's Tsegay, the reigning world record holder in the 5,000m with her 14:00.21 performance from the Paris Diamond League on June 9, 2023.
Tsegay, who also claimed gold at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, held in Eugene, will be keen to reassert her dominance on familiar ground.
Ethiopia's Medina Eisa, ranked second in the world with a personal best of 14:16.54, will also be on the start line, alongside compatriot Ejgayehu Taye, whose best stands at 14:12.98, the third fastest in the field.
Last year's winner, Tsigie Gebreselama, will also participate. She boasts a personal best of 14:18.74 over the distance.
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