World Record holder Beatrice Chebet has delivered Kenya’s first gold medal at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The double world record holder stole the show, storming to victory in the women’s 10,000 metres with a time of 30:37.61.
Chebet's win ends a nearly decade-long wait for Kenya in this event. The last time a Kenyan woman claimed the 10,000m world title was in 2015, when Vivian Cheruiyot won gold in Beijing.
Olympic silver medalist, Italy’s Nadia Battocletti put up a remarkable fight to claim the silver medal in a national record time of 30:38.23, while Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay secured bronze with 30:39.65.
"It was a tough, very tactical race, but I ran the the last 800 metres really hard," Chebet said.
"I have never won a gold at the world championships so I was sure I had to get it. That was running in my mind during the race. This title means a lot to me and hope it will motivate young athletes out there."
Chebet took last year's Paris Olympics by storm as she won both the 5,000m and 10,000m crowns.
Millions Beatrice Chebet will receive.
Chebet is set to receive $70,000 (Ksh9 million) in prize money for her gold medal, as part of the World Athletics Championships’ total prize pool of $8.5 million (Ksh1.098 billion) allocated to top finishers across individual and relay events.
She is also set to receive Ksh3 million from the government after President William Ruto, when flagging off athletes representing Kenya at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, announced that the government enhanced the reward scheme for athletes who win medals at global competitions.
President Ruto said gold medal winners in athletics will now receive Ksh3 million, up from Ksh750,000. Silver medallists, on the other hand, will earn Ksh2 million, an increase from Ksh500,000, while bronze medallists will receive Ksh1 million, up from Sh350,000.
The Head of State also said that the government has increased daily allowances of athletes from $60 (Ksh7,800) to $200 (Ksh26,000) for athletes, and from $80 (Ksh10,337) to $300 (Ksh38,767) for officials representing the country abroad.
“We have also enhanced rewards for winners in the Commonwealth Games. The new package raises cash awards for gold medal winners from KSh500,000 to Ksh2.5 million, Ksh300,000 to Ksh1.5 million for silver, and Ksh200,000 to Ksh1 million for bronze,” he said.
“The Ministry of Sports is going to review other packages to make sure that we encourage the sporting spirit in Kenya,"
The world crown had eluded Chebet at the last two championships, but this time the 25-year-old made sure it didn’t slip away. She controlled the race over 25 laps, then surged heading into the bell lap to seal the victory in 30:37.61.
Chebet has now achieved the trifecta in the women’s 10,000m: world champion, Olympic champion and world record holder, after setting the mark of 28:54.14 last year.
