Read Also
Double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet will step away from her long-distance specialities to contest the 1,500m at this weekend’s Silesia Diamond League, where she will face a stern test from Ethiopians Gudaf Tsegay and Diribe Welteji.
Chebet has spent the past two seasons rewriting distance-running history.
Enjoying this article?
Subscribe for unlimited access to premium sports coverage.
View Plans
In May 2024, she demolished the women’s 10,000m world record at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, clocking 28:54.14 to become the first woman ever to dip under 29 minutes.
She carried that blistering form to the Paris Olympics, claiming a historic double with gold in the 5,000m (14:28.56) and 10,000m (30:43.25).
The 2025 season has been no different.
In July, she shattered the 5,000m world record at the Prefontaine Classic, stopping the clock at 13:58.06 to become the first woman to run under 14 minutes over 12 and a half laps and snatching the mark from Tsegay, who held the previous mark of 14:00.21.
However, the 1,500m is unfamiliar territory on the global stage for the Kenyan star.
Chebet has raced in a couple of 1,500m races locally, with her first coming in 2019 at an Athletics Kenya meet in Mumias, where she ran 4:23.2.
She later won the 2023 national championships in 4:06.56, before finishing fifth at the World Championships trials for Budapest in 4:10.17.
This year’s Diamond League has already seen Chebet stretch her range.
She opened her campaign in Xiamen in April with a 14:27.12 victory over 5,000m and smashed the African 3,000m record in Rabat with 8:11.56, the second-fastest time in history, just five seconds shy of Junxia Wang’s world record of 8:06.11 from 1993.
She followed up with a 14:03.69 win at the Rome Golden Gala before her record-breaking run in Eugene.
Her most recent outing came at the Kenyan World Championships trials on July 22, where she placed third in the 10,000m (30:27.52) behind Janeth Chepng'etich (30:27.02) and Agnes Ng'etich (30:27.38).
After her performance at the trials, Chebet relayed the team's intent for success in Tokyo over the 25-lap race.
“It was amazing running with Agnes and Janeth. We already feel like a team ready to conquer Tokyo," she said.
In Silesia, Chebet will face one of the most prominent names in middle-distance running.
Tsegay, the third-fastest woman ever over 1,500m, began her 2025 season by clinching the World Indoor title in Nanjing, clocking 3:58.86.
The Ethiopian extended her blistering form over the 1,500m distance at the Zagreb meeting in May, winning in 3:58.14.
Tsegay is joined by compatriot Welteji — the 2018 World U-20 800m champion — who has been in dazzling form over 1,500m this season.
She boasts wins from the Kingston (4:04.51) and Philadelphia (3:58.04) Grand Slams and a runner-up finish from the Prefontaine Classic (3:51.44).
Britain’s Georgia Bell, American Nikki Hiltz and Ireland’s Sarah Healy complete a stacked field.
Comments 0
Sign in to join the conversation
Sign In Create AccountNo comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!