Faith Kipyegon, Beatrice Chebet: Undisputed golden track queens who fly Kenyan flag high

For Kenya’s golden girls – Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet, the medal haul at international championships is not enough.

When the two track stars line up, the entire world pauses to watch them write history in every step they make.

Most of the time, they leave their competitors gasping for breath at the finish line as they celebrate their exploits.

With infectious smiles and camaraderie to boot, the duo has inspired the world.

They mean business; they go for world records and they cause fear and awe among competitors and immense joy on athletics fans.

And when they fail to hit a target in a race, they retreat to their training bases to strategise before launching blistering comebacks.

Kipyegon, a three-time Olympic champion, is so far the undisputed GOAT in the 1500m. She has been unstoppable in the distance.

At the Eugene Diamond League staged at the Hayward Field on July 5, Kipyegon, once again shattered her 1500m world record.

It was the third time Kipyegon was setting a new world record over 1500m, having first smashed it in Florence in 2023 and just a week after her Italian exploits, she broke the 5000m world record which now belongs to Chebet.

Nine days before bettering her world record in Eugene, she failed in her historic attempt to become the first woman to run under four minutes in the Mile in Paris.

During the attempt, the star looked notably fatigued in the closing stages, but she showed she was in great shape as she surged to a new 1500m world record in front of a sell-out crowd at Hayward Field.

During the Saturday night contest at Hayward Field, there was no doubt over Kipyegon’s ability to produce a jaw dropping performance.

At the conclusion of the proceedings, the queen of track running had taken 0.36 off the record she set at the Paris Diamond League meet, last year.

With Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull for company, Kipyegon closely stuck behind the pacemaker, racing through 400m in 1:01.61 and crossing the 800m mark in 2:03.17 and going into the final lap, the four-time world champion and serial record-holder unleashed a lightning and as she broke away.

At the homestretch, it was Kipyegon and her own world record competing. Eventually she crossed the finish line in 3:48.68.

Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji settled for second place in 3:51.44 ahead of Hull (3:52.67) and Olympic bronze medallist Georgia Hunter Bell (3:54.76).

The record-time perfectly cemented Kipyegon’s status as a master of comebacks.

Kipyegon, who ran a well-measured sub-four attempt in the Mile at the Stade Charlety, with the help of pacesetters and new Nike technologies, was on a mission to engrave her name in the annals of history as the first women ever to run a the distance under four minutes but it wasn’t successful but Kenyans praised her courage.

After the historic third time breaking her own record, Kipyegon said the sub-four in the Mile is possible.

"This is the time I was expecting when I was in Paris, I say that it's still possible to run under 3:49, and I'm just so grateful. I thank God, I thank my management, I thank my coach and all of the support system who have been supporting me through this journey, so it feels amazing," Kipyegon said after the new world record.

She went on to say: "I think the changes were that I was preparing myself for something special, which was to run under four minutes in a mile and I think I pushed myself, getting better and better toward the 1500, so I knew it was possible to still run under 3:49. I'm grateful to God that I made it today because I talked about it last week, and here I am breaking the world record.

“For me, I try to be consistent. I try to follow what my coach is telling me to do, to be better and better every year, so I'm grateful that I've started to break the four minutes like in Paris last week and come here and run the 1500. This is the road to Tokyo and I would say I am in the right direction."

Kipyegon joins the list of global legends that have set world records and bettered them multiple times. She holds the world record in the Mile.

They include pole vault star Mondo Duplantis who has set world records 12 times and two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge who ran the fastest time in the marathon twice, first in 2018 followed by 2022.

Double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet became the first woman in history to cover 5000m inside 14 minutes, after timing a world record of 13:58.06 also at the Eugene Diamond League.

Returning to the venue of her world 10,000m record from last year, she also wrote history, joining the league of record-breakers.

Chebet, a two-time world cross country champion was at hand to congratulate Kipyegon at the Hayward Field after obliterating Gudaf Tsegay’s previous world record. The Ethiopian had smashed Kipyegon’s world record in 2023 and Chebet grabbed it back.

Chebet passed 3000m in 8:22.96, 1.04 seconds inside the pace required for a sub-14-minute run. The pace dropped slightly for the next kilometre as 4000m was reached in 11:14.12, but Chebet had saved something for the closing stages.

She kicked hard with 200m to go. Tsegay’s challenge began to fade and she was soon passed by Agnes Ngetich, but Chebet was away and clear and crossed the line in 13:58.06, taking 2.15 seconds off Tsegay’s world record. Ngetich took second place in 14:01.29, the third-fastest time in history, and Tsegay placed third in 14:04.41.

"I'm so happy to become the first woman to run under 14 minutes. After Rome I knew that I had the potential of running a world record. I told myself, 'if Faith is trying for a world record in Eugene, why not me too?'" said Chebet.

Just 80 minutes after Chebet's record-breaking run, Kenyan compatriot and fellow Olympic gold medallist Faith Kipyegon re-entered the record books by breaking her own world 1500m record with 3:48.68.

"I'm so happy; after running in Rome, I said I have to prepare for a record, because in Rome I was just running to win a race, but after running 14:03, I said that I'm capable of running a world record. So, let me go back home, and then come to Eugene,” Chebet said after the record-breaking moment in Eugene.

She added: “When I was coming here to Eugene, I was coming to prepare to run a world record, and I said I have to try. I said if Faith is trying, why not me? And today, I'm so happy because I've achieved being the first woman to run under 14. I'm so happy for myself."

"Discipline and hard work, my coach and my husband have been there assisting me in everything I'm doing in training and supporting me, and Faith has been a close friend to me." Hayward Field is good for me. This isn't my first time coming here, so I can say that it's a good track for me.

"I'm happy to represent my country and I know when going to the World Championship, we have a strong field. We hope for good health and good results there."

Chebet also holds the 5km world record (13:54) which she set at the Cursa dels Nassos in Barcelona on December 31, 2024. She bettered 19 seconds of the previous record in the surface distance.