Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet after the 5000m women's race in Tokyo, September 20, 2025./AKFour-time World 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon has revealed she had no doubt world 10,000m and 5,000m record holder Beatrice Chebet would reign supreme in Tokyo over the 5,000m on Saturday.
Chebet completed a stunning distance double in Tokyo with victory in the women’s 5,000m, stopping the clock in 14:54.36.
Kipyegon settled for silver, clocking 14:55.07, while Italy’s Nadia Battocletti won bronze in 14:55.42.
Earlier in the week, the 24-year-old had stormed to the 10,000m crown on day one, crossing the line in 30:37.61 to open her golden campaign.
Kipyegon acknowledged that Chebet was in the form of her life and beating her would be a huge hurdle.
“Congratulations to Beatrice, my friend. I knew it was very hard to beat her because she was the world record holder. I knew she was very strong and I am happy for her," Kipyegon said.
Chebet holds the current women's mark over 5,000m, having clocked 13:58.06 at the Prefontaine Classic on July 5, becoming the first woman in history to dip under 14 minutes.
Kipyegon was, however, pleased with her silver medal.
“I am so happy and thank God to go back home with a silver medal. I was just praying to be on the podium today."
“It felt so special running in Tokyo this year, running against this top-class field, and I am just thankful to go home with two medals," she added.
Her performance was all the more remarkable considering this was just her second 5,000m race of the year, having only run the semi-final on Thursday.
“This is my second 5,000m of the year after the 5,000m semi-finals, so this was my best. I raced more 1,500m this year than 5,000m."
With plans to shift to longer distances, Kipyegon believes the results will be motivational in her ambitions.
“I am happy to know I am progressing well in the long distance because I don’t plan to stay in the 1,500m for long."
Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet compete in the 5000m at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, September 20, 2025.
Meanwhile, newly crowned World 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi says controlling the tempo of the race was key to his decisive victory.
“I told myself that I needed to run fast if I was to win the race. That is why I decided to go in front and control the pace," Wanyonyi said.
Wanyonyi stamped his authority on the two-lap race, producing a commanding gun-to-tape victory to clinch gold in a championship record of 1:41.86.
Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati settled for silver in 1:41.90, while former world champion Marco Arop of Canada had to settle for bronze, also clocking 1:41.90 in a photo finish.
Despite Arop trying to challenge him after just 200m, Wanyonyi stuck to his guns, injecting more pace to outdo Arop's challenge.
“Arop challenged me after the 200m, but I decided to inject my pace because I did not want anyone to control the pace."
“I wanted to run fast in the first 700m then push myself in the final 100m," he said.
With his idol, world record holder David Rudisha, watching from the stands, Wanyonyi drew extra inspiration.
“I was happy because Rudisha was in the stands to cheer me on. That is very special for me," he noted.
