Kipyegon and Chebet Shatter World Records at Eugene Diamond League

Kenyan athletes Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet delivered historic performances at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon, setting new world records in the women’s 1500m and 5000m races respectively.

Kipyegon stormed to victory in the 1500m with a blistering time of 3:48.68, breaking her own world record by 0.36 seconds. The win comes just over a week after the three-time Olympic champion, 31, narrowly missed becoming the first woman to run a sub-four-minute mile.

In another stunning display, Beatrice Chebet smashed the women’s 5000m world record, clocking 13:58.06. She shaved more than two seconds off the previous record set by Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, also in Eugene, two years ago.

“When I was coming here to Eugene, I was coming to prepare to run a world record,” said the 25-year-old. “I’m so happy.”

Chebet now holds both the 5000m and 10,000m world records and Olympic titles, cementing her status as a long-distance powerhouse.

The two Kenyan stars were part of a glittering field that featured 17 individual Paris Olympic champions and 14 current world record holders at the Prefontaine Classic, one of the most anticipated meets on the Diamond League calendar.

READ ALSO: Faith Kipyegon’s Bold Statement after Sub-4 Minute Mile Dream in Paris

Mixed Fortunes for British Athletes

Matt Hudson-Smith was a standout for Team GB, recording a season’s best of 44.10 to win the men’s 400m ahead of Americans Christopher Bailey and Jacory Patterson.

In the men’s 100m, Zharnel Hughes, the British record holder, also posted a season’s best 9.91, finishing second behind Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, the Olympic silver medallist, who clocked 9.85.

In the women’s 800m, Jemma Reekie equalled her season’s best of 1:58.66 to finish seventh. Keely Hodgkinson, fresh off a gold medal in Paris, did not race due to a delayed comeback from a hamstring injury. Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma, silver medallist behind Hodgkinson in Paris, claimed victory in 1:57.10.

In the women’s 100m, Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith finished seventh as Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the U.S. won in 10.75, outpacing Olympic champion Julien Alfred.

The Bowerman Mile featured a thrilling finish as Dutch teenager Niels Laros overtook American Yared Nuguse in the final 10 metres, winning by 0.01 seconds. Brits Jake Wightman and Neil Gourley finished eighth and 12th respectively.

Elsewhere, Armand Duplantis of Sweden cleared 6.00m to comfortably win the men’s pole vault, and American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone clocked a season’s best 49.43 to win the 400m, holding off compatriots Aaliyah Butler and Isabella Whittaker.

What’s Next in the Diamond League

The Diamond League now heads to Monaco, before moving to London for a sold-out Athletics Meet on July 19. The series finals will be held in Zurich on August 27–28, just ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.