Seven unforgettable top Kenyan athletes in 2024

1. Ruth Chepnegetich

The debate about when the first human being would run a marathon in under two hours began when the men were already a few minutes from doing it. The late Kelvin Kiptum, who holds the world record at 2:00:35, was the closest to achieving that in an eligible marathon course. Eliud Kipchoge has already managed a 1:59:40, although not in the ideal marathon race setup.

The next considerable debate about when the first female runner would break the sub-2 hours and 10 minutes barrier would probably start some years from now.

However, on the streets of Chicago on October 13th, Chepngetich caught all the biggest companies in the world off-guard. They might have been waiting for the right time to try their Ineos 159 moment.

In a race where she crossed the first half of the race in the fastest time ever run by a woman on US soil for that distance and fifth fastest time ever of 1:04:16, Chepngetich proceeded to run an incredible world record of 2:09:56 to win the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

2. Beatrice Chebet

In a single year, Chebet achieved what can be a lifetime achievement for any world superstar. She won two Olympic Gold medals in Paris, broke a world record, and won two world titles: the World Cross Country and World Road Running titles.

Chebet’s impeccable 10,000m season began in Eugene when she became the first woman to cover 25 laps of the track within 29 minutes. In her third 10,000m race, the Kenyan clocked 28:54.14 to obliterate Letesenbet Gidey’s previous world record of 29:01.03.

3. Agnes Ngetich

On January 14th, Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich lowered the women’s 10K World Record to 28:46 in Valencia. The previous world record was 29:14, set by Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw in February 2022. Ngetich became the first woman to run 10km in under 29 minutes.

On her way to the 10K world record, Ngetich crossed the 5K in 14:13, setting a new world record for the shorter distance as well.

Ngetich also ran a world-leading time and a Kenyan national record of 1:03:04 for the half marathon on October 27th in Valencia.

4. Faith Kipyegon

Kipyegon completed an unprecedented feat at the Paris Olympics, winning three consecutive Olympic gold medals in…