The discussion surrounding the first human to run a marathon in under two hours emerged as the men approached this milestone. Kelvin Kiptum, the current world record holder at 2:00:35, came closest to achieving this on an eligible marathon course. Eliud Kipchoge also completed a 1:59:40 run, though not under ideal marathon race conditions.
The conversation about the first female runner to break the sub-2 hours and 10 minutes barrier is possibly a few years away.
Nevertheless, in Chicago on October 13th, Chepngetich surprised the biggest companies in the world by setting a world record time of 2:09:56 to win the Bank of America Chicago Marathon after running the fastest first half of a race ever by a woman on US soil and the fifth fastest overall with a time of 1:04:16.
Beatrice Chebet
In a remarkable year, Chebet achieved what many athletes dream of in a lifetime. She secured two Olympic Gold medals in Paris, broke a world record, and won two world titles in Cross Country and Road Running.
Chebet’s exceptional 10,000m season began in Eugene with her becoming the first woman to finish 25 laps of the track in under 29 minutes. In her third 10,000m race, she clocked 28:54.14 to break Letesenbet Gidey’s previous world record of 29:01.03.
Agnes Ngetich
On January 14th, Agnes Ngetich of Kenya set a new women’s 10K World Record with a time of 28:46 in Valencia, surpassing the previous record of 29:14 set by Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw in February 2022. Ngetich became the first woman to run 10km in under 29 minutes.
During her record-breaking 10,000m run, Ngetich passed the 5K mark in 14:13, setting a new world record for that distance as well.
Ngetich also achieved a world-leading time and a Kenyan national record of 1:03:04 in the half marathon on October 27th in Valencia.
Faith Kipyegon
Kipyegon made history at the Paris Olympics by winning three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the women’s 1500m race.
Kipyegon won her first Olympic gold in the 1500m at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she became the third athlete to defend an Olympic 1500m title. In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kipyegon set a new Olympic record of 3:51.29 while securing her third consecutive gold medal.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi
The men’s 800m race was one of the most competitive of the year. Wanyonyi’s journey from nearly missing the finals at the Kenyan trials to winning the gold at the Paris Olympics was a sweet victory.
Wanyonyi set three personal best times to demonstrate the high level of competition. He won the Kenyan Trials in 1:41.70, finished second at the Paris Diamond League in 1:41.58 to set another PB, and then clinched the Olympic gold in 1:41.19.
In the same race, 2023 World champion Marco Arop of Canada set a North American record of 1:41.20 to secure the silver medal. Djamel earned bronze, while Bryce Hoppel finished fourth in a US record time of 1:41.67.
Mary Moraa
Moraa had a standout year, winning the Kenyan Olympic Trials, gold in the 400m at the African Games, the Diamond League final in the 800m, and a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
Shortly after winning the bronze at the Paris Olympics in 2023, Moraa broke the world record for the women’s 600 meters at ISTAF in Germany. Her time was 14 hundredths of a second faster than the previous record held by Caster Semenya, showcasing her exceptional speed and talent in middle-distance running.
Sebastian Sawe
After winning the World Road Running gold medal in Riga for the half marathon, Sawe concluded his impressive year with a spectacular performance at the Valencia Marathon.
On December 1st, in his debut marathon, Sawe clocked the fifth fastest time ever for the distance, crossing the finish line in 2:02:05 for a historic victory.
