Beatrice Chebet has been quietly rewriting history. And it seems the world is finally catching up now. After all, the 24-year-old Kenyan sensation had made global headlines after becoming the first woman to break the 29-minute barrier mark in the 10,000m last year. She clocked a jaw-dropping 28:54.14 time at the Prefontaine Classic for this. But now she is on a quest to blow even more minds. With one historic win already under her belt, she chose the Xiamen Diamond League as her next stomping grounds. So, what did she do?

Well, fresh off her Olympic double gold haul in Paris, where she dominated both the 5,000m and 10,000m, Chebet opened her 2025 season by winning the Women’s 5000m race at the Xiamen Diamond League. The reigning world record holder and back-to-back Diamond League champion is stacking up titles and rewriting records, solidifying her reign as the undisputed queen of long-distance running.

The track world lit up after Track & Field Gazette posted on X, “Olympic Champion Beatrice Chebet 🇰🇪 runs a Meet Record of 14:27.12 to win the women’s 5000m at the Xiamen Diamond League!” And what a statement it was. Chebet didn’t just win. She dominated, out-kicking Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay by more than a second, with Tsegay crossing the line in 14:28.18. Birke Haylom, also of Ethiopia, settled for third in 14:28.80.

In a field stacked with 10 Ethiopian runners, five of whom finished between second and seventh, Chebet showed her championship mettle, leading almost wire-to-wire and leaving no doubt that she’s still the woman to beat on the global stage. Beatrice Chebet hasn’t just shown flashes of brilliance. She’s proven time and again that she belongs in the conversation with the greatest.

At the Zurich Diamond League, she clocked an astonishing 14:09, the world-leading time for 2024. And yet, according to Chebet, she left even more on the track. “I really wanted to run the world record, but I missed it. This is due to the weather. And the pacemaker was supposed to pace until 3000m. But she dropped off earlier,” she admitted, pointing to the chilly conditions that hampered her historic bid.

Even when the odds were stacked against her, Chebet still dominated. The terrifying potential she’s only beginning to unlock. Her 2024 season has been nothing short of breathtaking, drawing parallels to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s staggering level of achievement, at least in terms of the sheer volume of milestones. Two Olympic golds, two world records, and an ironclad hold on the distance scene.

To cap it all off, on New Year’s Eve, Chebet shattered her own 5km road world record at the Cursa dels Nassos in Barcelona, blazing to a mind-bending 13:54 finish. In doing so, she became the first woman ever to break the 14-minute barrier in the 5km, carving her name even deeper into the history books.

Beatrice Chebet’s journey is fueled by family and an unbreakable dream

Beatrice Chebet’s incredible rise to the top of the distance-running world didn’t happen by accident. It was sparked by family belief. In an August 2023 interview with Nation Africa, Chebet revealed that it was her grandmother who first saw the spark in her. After a neighbor noticed the then-16-year-old’s natural talent, they encouraged her grandmother to get her into professional training.

Without hesitation, her grandmother approached Coach Paul Kemei of the Lemotit Athletic Club. “I was more than ready to take up athletics as long as she supported me,” Chebet recalled in a 2023 interview with Nation Africa. That family support only deepened over time. Chebet’s parents, too, recognized her gift early back when she was just in class four in Kericho and threw their full backing behind her dreams.

“We have always supported her since we realized that she had athletic talent when she was in class four in Kericho,” her father, Kirui, shared with Nation Africa. They proudly watched their daughter juggle both school and sport, eventually securing a job with the Kenya Police while continuing to chase her running ambitions. Today, with yet another record-breaking year unfolding, kicking off 2025 with her commanding win at the Xiamen Diamond League, Chebet’s success is the living proof of that family-fueled faith.

“My parents mean the world to me,” she said in 2023. The 2022 Diamond League 5000m champion also shared a heartfelt prayer where she “asked God” to bless her parents with long life so they could witness her climb even higher. And if the past year is any sign, Beatrice Chebet is making sure they see every breathtaking moment of her journey.