2024 has been a rollercoaster for the country, but one area where Kenya has excelled consistently is athletics.
Kenyan athletes, particularly the women, delivered outstanding performances throughout the 2024 season. In fact, some shattered remarkable records—achievements so extraordinary that the international community even questioned their authenticity.
Here are five astounding records broken by our female athletes this year:
Ruth Chepngetich
Sarah Moraa celebrating after winning gold medal in the 800 metres at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru, Friday, August 30.
Photo
Team Kenya
In a performance of the ages, Ruth Chepngetich completely obliterated the Chicago marathon in October 2024 with a time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds (2:09:56).
What made her achievement so unique is she made it look quite easy, slashing nearly two minutes off the previous record held by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa.
By the halfway mark, there were signs Chepngetich would do something special as she had already fended off most of her rivals, including Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede, who finished the race seven minutes and 36 seconds later.
Mary Moraa
Fresh from winning bronze at the Paris Olympics in 2023, Mary Moraa took Germany by storm weeks later by smashing the 600m world record at ISTAF.
The 800m world champion shaved 14 hundredths of a second off what is officially recognised by World Athletics as the world’s best time, previously held by Caster Semenya.
Beatrice Chebet
In August 2024, Beatrice Chebet of Kenya set a world record in the 10,000 meters by finishing in 28 minutes, 54.14 seconds in the Prefontaine Classic meet.
Like her counterpart Chepngetich, Chebet slashed some time off the previous record held by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey.
Peris Chepchirchir
In April, Peris Chepchirchir set a world record at the women-only marathon, running 45 seconds faster than former world record holder Mary Keitany.
By running in 2:16.16, Chepchirchir slashed 45 seconds off the 2:17.01 that was set by her compatriot Keitany in 2017.
Faith Kipyegon
The list would be complete without Faith Kipyegon. Arguably Kenya’s most celebrated female athlete in recent times, Kipyegon, despite her small stature, has proven to be an unstoppable force in the 1500 metres.
The mother of one broke her own world record in the women’s 1500 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Paris in August, finishing the race in 3:49.04. Her previous record of 3:49.11 was set in Italy the previous year.
Athlete Faith Kipyegon celebrates after winning a gold medal in Paris.
Photo
Kipchumba Murkomen