Beatrice Chebet won the battle of Kenya in the 5000m at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Saturday (20 September).
Chebet, who took 10,000m gold last Saturday, sprinted past 1500m hero Faith Kipyegon in the home straight to complete the long-distance double. The 25-year-old has not being beaten in a 5000m or 10,000m race for two years, other than at the Kenyan national trials. She now has a full set of distance titles at global championships after her double at Paris 2024.
In a slowly-run race, Kipyegon tracked her younger teammate before edging ahead with 600m to go as the pace increased. Italy’s Nadia Battocletti led at the bell, but she was soon passed by the two Kenyans with Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia moving to her shoulder.
Kipyegon made the first move, but Chebet looked calm before surging clear in the last 60m. Battocletti was a close third to add to her 10,000m silver, with USA’s long-time leader Shelby Houlihan passing a fading Tsegay for fourth.