Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech sets new world 5km record

"I'm so happy because I didn't expect it," said Chepkoech, the 2019 world champion in the steeplechase. "It was cold and there was a lot of wind, but I tried to follow my pace maker and everything was perfect," added the 29-year-old Kenyan.

Monaco: Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya has set a new 5km road world record, completing the Monaco Run in 14 minutes and 43 seconds.

Sunday’s performance by Chepkoech bettered the previous record in a mixed gender race of 14:48 set by Caroline Kipkirui in 2018, and is also one second faster than Sifan Hassan’s 14:44 record for a women’s-only race, until this morning the fastest time ever produced over the distance since the 5km was introduced as a world record event in November 2017, reports World Athletics.

“I’m so happy because I didn’t expect it,” said Chepkoech, the 2019 world champion in the steeplechase. “It was cold and there was a lot of wind, but I tried to follow my pace maker and everything was perfect,” added the 29-year-old Kenyan.

Meanwhile, Uganda’s 10,000m world champion Joshua Cheptegei, who set the men’s world record of 12:51 at this race last year, successfully defended his title, clocking 13:13.

“The wind was incredibly difficult,” said Cheptegei, who covered the opening kilometre in 2:44, 13 seconds behind the pace that propelled him to the world record last year.