World record holder targets more accolades in Portugal

 
After kicking off the 2025 season with a dominant win at the Elgoibar Cross Country race in Spain, double Olympic champion and women’s 10,000m world record holder Beatrice Chebet will light up the streets of Portugal on 9 March, as she chases her second victory of the season at the Lisbon 10km road race.
The 24-year-old crossed the finish line of the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza – a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in twenty five minutes and 49 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Melknat Wudu ( 26:31 ) and Burundi’s Francine Niyomukunzi ( 26:33 ).
Chebet now has her eyes set on the Lisbon showdown.
“My target is to keep on training as I have not scheduled any race until March 9, when I compete at the Lisbon 10K,” she said.
However, Chebet has cautiously downplayed an assault on her compatriot Agnes Ngetich’s world record of 28:46 set at the Valencia Ibercaja race on 14 January 2024.
“That record is impressive, I’m not sure I can do that. I’ll just try to win the race,” she added.
While her personal best over the distance remains 32:52—set back in 2019 at the Eldoret 10K, the Police Constable’s sensational performances over the 2024 season suggest she’s more than capable of a record-breaking effort.
In May last year, she made history at the Prefontaine Classic, obliterating the 10,000m world record with a blistering time of 28:54.14 to become the first woman in history to dip under the 29-minute barrier.
Her mark eclipsed the previous mark of 29:01.03 set by Ethiopia’s Latesenbet Gidey in 2021.
On the New Year’s Eve, Chebet went on another historic run in Barcelona, clocking 13:54 to shatter the previous mark of 14:13 held by Ngetich and became the first woman in history to run a sub 14-minute in the five km race.
Reflecting on her Elgoibar triumph, Chebet admitted she was confident about retaining her title despite the challenging course.
“Honestly, I expected to win. The circuit is arguably one of the toughest I have ever run with plenty of ups and downs, but at the same time it’s perfect to build up for the championships,” she said.
On 7 January 2024, Chebet stormed to a 26:08 finish in Elgoibar ahead of compatriots Edinah Jebitok ( 26:10 ) and Grace Nawowuna ( 26:25 ).
She went on to secure her second World Cross Country title in Belgrade, Serbia, with a 31:05 finish ahead of Lilian Kasait ( 31:08 ) and Margaret Chelimo ( 31:09 ).