by Justin Lagat
- Ruth Chepnegetich
The debate about when the first human being would run a marathon in under two hours began when the men were already a few minutes from doing it. The late Kelvin Kiptum, who holds the world record at 2:00:35, was the closest to achieving that in an eligible marathon course. Eliud Kipchoge has already managed a 1:59:40, although not in the ideal marathon race setup.
October 13, 2014
Chicago, Illinois, USA, photo by Bank of America Chicago Marathon / Kevin Morris
The next considerable debate about when the first female runner would break the sub-2 hours and 10 minutes barrier would probably start some years from now.
However, on the streets of Chicago on October 13th, Chepngetich caught all the biggest companies in the world off-guard. They might have been waiting for the right time to try their Ineos 159 moment.
In a race where she crossed the first half of the race in the fastest time ever run by a woman on US soil for that distance and fifth fastest time ever of 1:04:16, Chepngetich proceeded to run an incredible world record of 2:09:56 to win the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
- Beatrice Chebet
In a single year, Chebet achieved what can be a lifetime achievement for any world superstar. She won two Olympic Gold medals in Paris, broke a world record, and won two world titles: the World Cross Country and World Road Running titles.
Chebet’s impeccable 10,000m season began in Eugene when she became the first woman to cover 25 laps of the track within 29 minutes. In her third 10,000m race, the Kenyan clocked 28:54.14 to obliterate Letesenbet Gidey’s previous world record of 29:01.03.
- Agnes Ngetich
On January 14th, Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich lowered the women’s 10K World Record to 28:46 in Valencia. The previous world record was 29:14, set by Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw in February 2022. Ngetich became the first woman to run 10km in under 29 minutes.
On her way to the 10K world record, Ngetich crossed the 5K in 14:13, setting a new world record for the shorter distance as well.
Ngetich also ran a world-leading time and a Kenyan national record of 1:03:04 for the half marathon on October 27th in Valencia.
- Faith Kipyegon
Kipyegon completed an unprecedented feat at the Paris Olympics, winning three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the women’s 1500m race.
At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Kipyegon won her first Olympic gold medal in the 1500m. She became the third athlete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to retain an Olympic 1500m title. In achieving the feat at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kipyegon set a new Olympic record of 3:51.29 while winning her third consecutive gold medal.
- Emmanuel Wanyonyi
If there was one race that looked most competitive throughout this year, it was the men’s 800m. Wanyonyi’s journey, from nearly missing the finals at the Kenyan trials to winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, must have been the sweetest victory.
Wanyonyi set three personal best times to demonstrate the competition level this year. He won the Kenyan Trials in 1:41.70. He set another PB by finishing second at the Paris Diamond League in 1:41.58. He then won the Olympic gold in 1:41.19.
Behind him, 2023 World champion Marco Arop of Canada set a North American record of 1:41.20 to take silver. Djamel earned bronze, while Bryce Hoppel was fourth in a US record of 1:41.67.
- Mary Moraa
Moraa had a great year, winning the Kenyan Olympic Trials, gold in the 400 m at the African Games, the Diamond League final in the 800m, and a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Moraa made headlines shortly after her bronze medal win at the Paris Olympics in 2023, breaking 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 closed his impressive year on a high note after a spectacular run at the Valencia Marathon.
On December 1st, in his marathon debut, Sawe ran the fifth fastest time ever for the marathon distance, registering 2:02:05 for the historic win.
