Even on New Year’s Eve, Beatrice Chebet wasn’t ready to clock out! On December 31st, the 24-year-old Kenyan decided to cap off 2024 with a bang. It’s been a year full of incredible feats for Chebet, and while many would agree she’s more than earned recognition in the Athlete of the Year awards, some of those honors were decided well before the final days of the year. But Chebet wasn’t about to let that slow her down. Exactly twelve months after setting a world 5km record of 14:13 in Barcelona, she returned to the Cursa Dels Nassos race in the same city to make history once again—and this time, she took it a step further.

Beatrice Chebet absolutely stunned the world by clocking 13:54, becoming the first woman ever to run a sub-14-minute 5km. She smashed her own record by 19 seconds, and in doing so, reminded everyone why she’s one of the fiercest athletes in the world. With that performance, she finished the year on the highest note possible!

It’s been a year for the books for Chebet. From defending her world cross-country title in Belgrade to pulling off an unforgettable golden double at the Paris Olympics, where she took home both the 5000m and 10,000m golds, she’s been on fire. She also set a new world 10,000m record at the Pre Classic, running an incredible 28:54.14, and took home Diamond League glory in Brussels. After all that, many thought she might slow down a bit but nope! She just got faster. Her 13:54 run in Barcelona proves she’s operating on another level entirely. But was she always this great runner? Nope! She wasn’t a great runner as her close one once revealed!

The hidden side of Beatrice Chebet’s success

A few days back, Beatrice Chebet’s husband, Peter Bii, gave fans a glimpse into her personal life. He shared an interesting tidbit about their early days together, revealing that when they first met, he had no idea she was such a talented runner. In fact, he even thought about telling her to quit running at one point! “Surprisingly when I met her I didn’t know she runs that good. That’s the funny thing,” Peter laughed. And well, we all know how that turned out, two Olympic golds later, it’s clear she made the right choice.

Beatrice Chebet also shared her story of her journey of having never been a best runner when she first came across him. “We met when I wasn’t running that well,” She said. Now that she is an Olympian, Peter who is very much thrilled about her achievements could not resist propelling more love in her direction saying, “People don’t really know her. I’m lucky, no, I’m blessed to have her.” It seems one of the reasons for her achievements is the support and love she gets from her husband.

With such form this year, 2025 could be another revolutionary year for Beatrice Chebet! Her competitors better watch out because she is not relenting on her pace. Some of them might even be thinking about making the transition to the marathon, but Chebet has not shown any signs of being ready to tackle the 26.2-mile distance. After all, having celebrated 2024, it is quite logical to dream about yet higher achievements in the next year.