Double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet has revealed why she was unsuccessful in her attempt to break the women’s 5000m world record at the 2024 Zurich Diamond League meeting held on Thursday, September 5.
Chebet was seeking to smash the current world record of 14:00.21 that was set by Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay in September 2023 but was unsuccessful.
However, the 24-year-old managed to register an impressive world lead time and meeting record of 14:09.52, running the bigger part of the race alone as the Ethiopian duo of Ejgayehu Taye (14:28.76) and Tsigie Gebreselama (14:39.05) finished a distant second and third respectively.
Reacting after the epic performance, Chebet disclosed that she missed the world record because the pacemaker did not stick to the strategy.
Beatrice Chebet clocks World Lead in Zurich
“I really wanted to run the world record but the pacemaker dropped out earlier than planned. It was not easy after that.
I am so happy running a world lead. I just came to try the world record but I did not manage. But it is good to try than to fail.
So, today, I tried and did not manage to break it, but I am going back to prepare and I know next time everything will be well, it is just a matter of time,” she stated.
Chebet, who became the first Kenyan woman in history to win the 10000m and 5000m Olympic Games gold medal in Paris, further revealed that she will end her season in Brussels.
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According to the dimuntive runner, she will do her best to retain the Diamond League trophy she won last season in the event scheduled to take place from 13-14 September in Belgium.
“I am going for the last Diamond League. So, we go and try to win that trophy again,” she explained.
However, before the Brussels event, Chebet will compete in the 2024 Grand Prix Brescia set to be held on September 8 in Italy.
In Brescia, the athlete who has had a brilliant season which saw her smash the 10000m world record, will feature in the 3000m race.
ALSO READ: SportPesa launch revolutionary Tujiamini Initiative to nurture talent
Tujiamini is an initiative that seeks to provide a platform, including up to 30M shillings in funding, for individual, team sports and various talent, in a year-long campaign that will go around the country in a move aimed at evoking the sense of pride in Kenya’s sports and talent ecosystem.
Applicants are urged to submit their applications through www.tujiamini.co.ke