- Beatrice Chebet sparkled in 2024 after clinching gold in the women’s 5000m and 10000m races at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
By Tony Kipkorir
Many runners across the country usually make a lot of sacrifices in their craft with dreams of succeeding in the competitive athletics field.
Most of them like the five-time Berlin Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge often stay away from their families for five days on end just to sharpen their skills.
However, despite the sacrifices, not everyone is guaranteed success and some of them even end their season empty-handed despite the myriad of challenges they go through.
SportPesa News takes a look at four Kenyan stars who had a brilliant 2024 season.
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Beatrice Chebet
Beatrice Chebet had the most successful outing among Kenyan athletes in the just concluded 2024 season.
The 24-year-old set two world records within the past 10 months and won several titles in track and cross-country races.
Chebet’s first world record came on 31 December 2023 at the Cursa dels Nassos road race staged in Barcelona, Spain where she produced a brilliant performance that saw her clock 14:13.
The Londiani-based runner went on to break the 10000m world record at the Prefontaine Classic on May 26.
She crossed the finishing line in 28:54.14 to smash the previous mark of 29:01.03 that was set by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey in 2021, becoming the first win to dip under 29 minutes.
Less than two months before her remarkable performance in Barcelona, Chebet had successfully defended her World Athletics Cross Country Championships title.
She cut the tape in 31:05 to lead Kenya to a clean podium sweep and became the first woman to defend the title since Tirunesh Dibaba in 2006, in the event that was held in Belgrade, Serbia.
At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Chebet cemented her name in Kenya’s record books by becoming the first woman to win the 10000m and 5000m titles in the history of the competition.
Besides her Olympic Games heroics, the athlete also secured several Diamond League meetings wins before bagging the coveted trophy in the final held in Brussels, Belgium on September 14.
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Emmanuel Wanyonyi
Wanyonyi was the only bright spot in a season that Kenyan men struggled in track races.
The 800m runner won a number of Diamond League meetings before ending his season with the trophy earlier this month.
Wanyonyi, who schooled at the famous Kosirai Secondary School, which has produced a number of big names including Conseslus Kipruto, also set a new road mile world record in April.
However, the record was later broken on September 1 by Great Britain’s Elliot Giles before even being ratified by the World Athletics.
Wanyonyi’s moment of the season came on August 10 in Paris, when he won his first Olympic Games gold medal, beating Canada’s Marco Arop at the line to ensure the 800m title remains in Kenya.
The athlete, who hails from Western Kenya, also improved his lifetime best in the discipline to 1:41.11 on August 22.
His 2024 performances led many experts to back him to break the current world record of 1:40.91 set in 2012 by compatriot David Rudisha.
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Faith Kipyegon
Despite featuring in a few races due to injury-related reasons, Kipyegon had a perfect 2024 season.
The mother of one become the first woman to win three consecutive 1500m Olympic Games gold medals in Paris on August 10.
The Paris Olympic edition was also special for Kipyegon since she won a 5000m silver medal despite clashing with Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay.
Earlier this month, the Kaptagat-based runner won her fifth Diamond League trophy before ending the season on September 26 with a historic win in the inaugural Athlos event.
Faith Cherotich
Finally, no one expected Cherotich, popularly known as “Small Faith” by Kenyan fans, to deliver monstrous performances this season due to the brilliant form that her opponents were enjoying.
However, the talented runner went on to surprise many when she defeated the likes of the reigning 3000m steeplechase world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech to win a bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The 20-year-old clocked a lifetime best of 8:55.15 to finish behind Kenyan export to Bahrain Winfred Yavi and the then defending champion Peruth Chemutai of Uganda.
A few weeks later, Cherotich delivered another shocking performance to beat the likes of Yavi and Chemutai to the coveted Diamond League Trophy.
