FILE PHOTO: Athletics - Diamond League - Brussels - King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium - September 14, 2024 Beatrice Chebet of Kenya celebrates after winning the Women's 5000m final and setting a meeting record REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File photo
(Reuters) -Double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet smashed the women's 5km world record with a time of 13 minutes 54 seconds at the Cursa dels Nassos road race in Barcelona on Tuesday as she finished a blockbuster year on a high.
The Kenyan beat her previous record - set a year ago to the day at the Barcelona race - by 19 seconds, becoming the first woman to break the 14-minute barrier in the event.
Chebet was all on her own as she sprinted through the race and embraced friends at the finish line after adding another accolade to her name, having won the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at this year's Paris Games.
"I'm super happy as everything went according to plan," Chebet said in remarks provided by World Athletics. "I felt capable of running under 14 and I managed to do so. Two races in Barcelona and two world records, can I ask for more?"
The 24-year-old enjoyed a nearly flawless year, breaking the 10,000m world record in Eugene in May before claiming her second Diamond League title in the 5,000m in September.
Chebet said she will turn her attention to the World Championships in Tokyo in 2025, where she hopes to compete in both the 5,000 and 10,000, after picking up silver in 2022 and bronze in 2023 in the shorter distance.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
