Golden Girl: Beatrice Chebet Strikers First Gold in Tokyo to End Kenya’s 10-Year Wait for 10,000m Title

Beatrice Chebet delivered the first gold medal for Kenya at the 2025 World Championships when she won the women’s 10,000m title in Tokyo on Saturday.

Chebet executed a tactical race to fend off the challenge of Italian Nadia Battocletti, Kenyan compatriot Agnes Jebet Ngetich and defending champion Gudaf Tsegay to win the 10,000m title for Kenya for the first time since 2015.

The race had all the makings of a classic and it delivered just that. The pace was slow when the gun went off with no athlete taking an early lead in a bid to conserve their energy for when it mattered.

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After 14 laps, Chebet took the lead followed by Ngetich and Tsegay with Battocletti just close by and by the halfway point, the Kenyan duo exchanged leads.

With five laps to go, Ngetich was in the lead, followed by Battocletti with Chebet just behind and by now, Tsegay looked like she could miss out.

Ngetich would maintain her lead with four laps remaining but the chasing pack was sticking with her with Chebet, Battocletti, Tsegay and her Ethiopian compatriot Ejgayehu Taye close by.

The defending champion would surge forward with three laps remaining and this strategy seems to have played to Chebet’s advantage as she tracked her every move.

When the bell went, signaling the final lap, Tsegay was leading but at the final bend, Chebet put on the afterburners and there was no catching the Kenyan.

Her impressive final kick was too much for the Ethiopian with Battocletti left as her only competitor but the Italian lacked enough steam to catch the Kenyan, who won her first world title, adding the gold to her Olympics crown.

Chebet’s win saw Kenya clinch their first gold in Tokyo but also end a 10-year drought over the distance as Vivian Cheruiyot had been the last athlete to claim a 10,000m world title for the country in Beijing 2015.

It also continued a tradition where no woman has defended the 10,000m world title in the last 18 years.

Chebet won gold in a time of 30:37.61 as Battocletti claimed a silver medal after clocking 30:38.23 with Tsegay forced to settle for bronze in 30:39.65.