Beatrice Chebet smashes World 5km record in Barcelona

Beatrice Chebet, Kenya’s double Olympic champion, capped off a remarkable year by breaking the world 5km record at the Cursa dels Nassos, a World Athletics Label road race in Barcelona, on Tuesday (31). Chebet clocked a stunning 13:54*, taking 19 seconds off her own previous record of 14:13, which she set at the same race last year.

World Athletics has recognised the road 5km as an official world record event since 2017, and Chebet is now the first woman to break the 14-minute barrier in either a road or track 5km. Her track 5000m personal best of 14:05.92, achieved in September 2023, ranks her third on the all-time list behind world record holder Gudaf Tsegay (14:00.21) and Faith Kipyegon (14:05.20). Chebet finished 11th overall in Barcelona, among both men and women.

This record crowns an extraordinary year for the 24-year-old, who claimed gold medals in the 5000m and 10,000m at the Paris Olympics and at the World Cross Country Championships. She also shattered the 10,000m world record on the track in June, running 28:54.14, and secured the 2024 Diamond League 5000m title with a world-leading 14:09.52.

WATCH: 5000m and 10,000m Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet becomes the first woman to break 14 minutes for 5K to SMASH the world record in 13:54 at the Cursa Dels Nassos race in Barcelona. 🚨

🇪🇸 One of the best parts of all these fast races in Spain is the announcers going wild… pic.twitter.com/vHbXZKpMlh

— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) December 31, 2024

Despite her achievements, Chebet was not shortlisted for World Athletics’ Female Athlete of the Year award. The honour went to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the Olympic 400m hurdles champion and world record holder, with Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred also among the finalists.

Looking ahead to 2025, Chebet is targeting her first track gold medal at the World Championships. She previously won bronze in the 5000m at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. With Faith Kipyegon holding a wildcard entry as the reigning world champion, Kenya can send up to four athletes in the women’s 5000m.

In Barcelona, Ethiopia’s Medina Eisa was the second woman to finish, clocking 14:23—the fourth-fastest time ever recorded for a road 5km and the second-best in Ethiopian history. Uganda’s Belinda Chemutai finished third in 14:36, setting a new Ugandan national record and ranking 15th on the world all-time list.

What a way to end the year 👀

🇰🇪's Beatrice Chebet becomes the first woman in history to break 14 minutes over 5 kilometres.

She clocks an unofficial 13:54* during the Cursa Dels Nassos in Barcelona 🔥

*Subject to the usual ratification procedure pic.twitter.com/6ggJVBsXdp

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 31, 2024