NAIROBI (KENYA) – Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech broke the 5 kilometres world record on Sunday. She achieved this feat by finishing in a time of 14 minutes 43 seconds round the streets of Monaco to mark one second off the old record.
The 29-year-old Chepkoech, who also has the world record in the 3,000 metres steeplechase to her credit, got past the windy conditions with assistance from her pacemaker Luuk Maas.
“I’m so happy. Even though there was a lot of wind, I managed to run right on pace,” Chepkoech said.
“In the end, my pacemaker told me ‘we can do it, let’s push it’. I’m really happy with this world record.”
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, the 10,000 metres world champion, won the men’s race, within a time of 13 minutes and 14 seconds.