Beatrice Chepkoech won gold in the women’s 3,000 meter obstacle race at the 2019 World Athletics Championships
The world obstacle course champion Beatrice Chepkoech broke the women’s 5 km world record and finished the race in Monaco in 14 minutes and 43 seconds.
The Kenyan, who also holds the 3,000-meter obstacle race world record, battled windy conditions with the help of male pacemaker Luuk Maas.
The 29-year-old took a second off the previous mark Sifan Hassan set at the same event in 2019.
“I’m so happy because I wasn’t expecting it,” said Chepkoech.
“It was cold and there was a lot of wind, but my pacemaker told me we can do it, let’s push it, and I managed to run really fast. Everything was perfect.”
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, the 10,000 meter world champion on the track, won the men’s race in 13:14. He set the men’s 5km record of 12:51 in Monaco last year.
The 5 km was recognized as a world record event in November 2017.
