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Agnes Jebet Ng'etich has explained what she must work on to dominate the Tokyo World Championships later this year after setting the women's only 10 kilometer world record.
Kenya’s Agnes Jebet Ng’etich has delved into the strategy she will use to make the Kenyan team for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and obliterate favorites like Beatrice Chebet.
On Saturday, Jebet, 24, broke the women-only 10 kilometers at the Adizero Road to Records event in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
She won the race in 29 minutes and 27 seconds, becoming the first athlete to run the race in under 30 minutes. She broke the previous world record of 30:01 set by the late Agnes Jebet Tirop in 2021.
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Jebet, who now holds both the women-only 10km record, and the mixed 10km world record has explained how her build up races prior to the event set her on the path to set the record.
Jebet had competed in the Kenyan round of the World Cross Country Tour series (Sirikwa Classic), and the Grand Slam Track, an elite track event series featuring athletics starts head-to-head, which gave her the sharpness she needed to set the new record.
How Jebet set herself up to set the 10k record
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"Both races put me in the right frame of mind to break the record," she said as quoted on Nation Sport.
At the Sirikwa Cross Country tour in Uasin Gishu, Jebet obliterated a strong field that included 1500m Olympic legend Faith Kipyegon to win the event.
She then finished second in the opening Long Distance race of Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica, running the 3,000m in a personal best time of 8:28.75 in the Grand Slam Track held on April 1 in Kingston, Jamaica.
She finished second to Ethiopia's Ejgayehu in 3,000m, and again in the 5,000m in the first leg of the inaugural Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica.
But her 10km women-only record in 'Adizero Road To Records' in Herzogenaurach, Germany, on Saturday, came as a surprise even to herself.
"I had done well in previous races, which helped me perform well, but I had just planned to run a good race in Germany, a world record wasn't on my mind.
"Sometimes one doesn't plan for records. A similar thing happened last year when I broke women's mixed 10km record."
In 2024, she had already broken the mixed 10km world record in Valencia, clocking 28:46. Her recent feat in Germany has only boosted her motivation to return stronger for the global stage after a stress fracture denied her a place at the Paris Olympics.
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Jebet missed the Kenyan Olympic trials for the 10,000m, which were held during the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon, where Beatrice Chebet blazed to a world record time of 28:54.14 before going on to win both the 5,000m and 10,000m titles at the Olympics.
“Facing the finest is a good challenge. You’ve got to beat the best to be the best,” said Jebet.
Her weapon? An unforgiving training routine in Iten under coach Julien Di Maria and the Ikaria Sports management. She logs between 160km to 165km each week and lives a regimented lifestyle that blends discipline with recovery.
“I wake up at 5am or 6am depending on the day’s plan and begin with speed work. After breakfast, I rest, then have a light lunch — usually chicken and rice. I rest again in the afternoon before my evening session,” she shared.
Her dinner is usually served between 7:30pm and 8pm, followed by bedtime at 9pm. She avoids red meat for medical reasons and sticks to a diet rich in white meat, milk, vegetables, ugali and chapati.
“Getting at least eight hours of rest is crucial,” she added. “It helps revitalize the body and mind. You wake up fresh, ready to go again.”
With a world record under her belt and Tokyo firmly in her crosshairs, Agnes Jebet’s mission is clear — not just to qualify, but to conquer.
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