Beatrice Chebet, “The Smiling Assassin,” ran the 2nd-fastest 5000m in history on Friday, the record is next

© Copyright – 2025 – Athletics Illustrated

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”

— Confucius (Master Kǒng Fūzǐ).

In 2022, Beatrice Chebet got on a heater and hasn’t cooled her jets since. There was a hint of her prodigious talent back in 2019 when, amongst high-15—and mid-16-minute 5000m runs, she popped a 14:46.12 at the Müller Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium in London, which is a Diamond League meet. She was just 19.

That year, she took silver at the Eugene World Athletics Championships in the 5000m event, clocking 14:46.75. Also, that summer she raced a road 5km, winning in 14:32 in Sechseläutenplatz, Zürich, Switzerland. In Birmingham, UK, the pint-sized Kenyan won gold during the 2022 Commonwealth Games, running 14:38.21.

The following year, she surprised many by winning the Bathurst World Cross Country Championships. She would have finished second, but Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey had gone so deep to attempt the win in the heat, she collapsed metres from the finish line. Chebet rolled in like she was out for a Sunday tempo.

Chebet had already won U20 World gold at the Aarhus meet in 2019. She followed up Bathurst by defending her title in Belgrade.

Last summer in Paris, Chebet took double gold in the Olympics, in the 10,000m and 5000m events, respectively.

The Smiling Assassin from Kericho in the Rift Valley — a town of 150,000, famous for producing long-distance runners — now holds the 5km road mixed and 10,000m world records, having gone 13:54 and 28:54.13 on the track at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic.

As of May 25, 2025, she holds the 3000m Kenyan and African record at 8:11.56 from the Rabat Diamond League meet. From this race, one may ask, “Is the table set for a world record attempt in the 5000m?”

A world record attempt

Arch nemesis, Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, holds the 5000m world record at 14:00.21. The Smiling Assassin wants it so bad, she can taste it. Chebet would do anything to be the first woman under 14 minutes and simultaneously hold the world record.

Tsegay was in Friday’s Rome Golden Gala meet with Chebet, however, she was a non-factor, having run just 14:24.86 and finishing in fifth position. Tsegay had a hard fade.

In theory, 13:54 on the roads is a tougher task than doing it on the track. On the 400m oval, the splits are easier to sort in the mind. The athlete can feel the distance remaining, and there is the rubber, underfoot, Wavelight technology, the constant crowd egging the athlete on and pacers on.

Didn’t happen.

However, the 25-year-old did run the second-fastest 5000m in history, clocking 14:03.69. She is likely kicking herself for not being more aggressive. Kicking herself is something that she can do. Watch her run, the heels come up to her glutes, repelling off the ground like vulcanized latex rubber lacrosse balls. The repulsion is a combination of grace and spring, like a ballet dancer running on hot coals.

She probably could have done it.

Currently, there is a little backlash in the sport of athletics where racing on the track seems to be more about time-trialling than racing other athletes head-to-head, no pacers, no Wavelight, no supershoes. So, she raced like a robot and her cadence was set to 14:12. Why?

Why and why not?

If she was attempting the world record of 13:59.99, why would the Golden Gala organizers set the Wavelights to 14:12? Chebet must have been testing her finish on semi-loaded legs. It’s an assumption. Or perhaps Prefontaine organizers politely requested she save the attempt for their meet. There is zero proof that the request was made. It’s a Hail Mary guess.

By 3000m, she was out of it, having gone through at a 14:12 pace rolling through in 8:32.2. She had just run a V02max-tickling 8:11 two weeks before.

Chebet may not have been smiling over the final few laps, certainly attempting the act of assassination by finishing the race with a 2:47 and then a 2:44 km. She closed the final 400m lap in 61.89. Oops.

“I was planning to run 14:15, but I felt like my body was moving and I decided to go,” Chebet told meet organizers. “So I see that my body is in good shape and I am capable of the world record. So now I am going home and will prepare for it. Everything is possible. If I get someone who will push me up to 3000, it is possible…Soon, I am going for the time under 14.”

Okay, perhaps she was not going for the world record after all. But she will now, and she will do it and achieve that sub-14. This may happen at the Prefontaine Classic on July 5 in Eugene, Oregon, at Hayward Field.

Heat could be a concern, but heat could be a concern for any open track race in the northern hemisphere in summer. Chebet will take the record sometime this year. She appears capable of going sub-13:55, and heat may not be a factor for her, as she proved in Bathurst.

Anatole France once said, “To achieve great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

The only thing left for Chebet is to act. Stay tuned.

Full meet results

200m Women | Wind: +0.8

1500m Women

5000m Women

400m Hurdles Women

Pole Vault Women

Discus Throw Women

Triple Jump Women

MEN’S RESULTS

100m Men | Wind:+1.1

400m Men

1500m Men

110m Hurdles Men | Wind:+0.9

High Jump Men

Shot Put Men

Long Jump Men