In a race that was set up as a 10,000m world record attempt, Beatrice Chebet of Kenya ran 28:54.14* to make history at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on Saturday (25).
The time is an astounding seven seconds faster than Letesenbet Gidey’s previous world record of 29:01.03, set in 2021.
Gudaf Tsegay moved to third on the world all-time list with her runner-up finish of 29:05.92, as well. In all, nine women ran faster than 30 minutes. At the start of the day there had only been 22 performances under 30 minutes in history.
Tsegay and Chebet stayed within a stride of the lights marking world record pace throughout the race, until Chebet sped ahead with three laps remaining, the lead all her own, and with it the weight of a world record attempt.
With 800m to go, Chebet pulled ahead of the lights by two whole strides as fans inside Hayward Field began to stand in their seats.
After the finish, Chebet fell to the track, splayed out in exhaustion, as Tsegay finished and joined her on the track. When the women stood, they hugged as the new world record flashed on the scoreboard behind them.
Story by: Andrew Greif for World Athletics
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure