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Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Thursday, December 12, 2024, applauded Ruth Chepng’etich following a decision by the World Athletics to ratify her historic record.

Chepng’etich made history with her world record-breaking marathon time of 2:09:56 on October 13, 2024. The 2019 world champion obliterated the marathon world record by almost two minutes and became the first woman to cover the classic distance inside 2:10.

Her mind-boggling winning time of 2:09:56 was a huge revision of the previous world record of 2:11:53, set by Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa in Berlin on 24 September 2023.

Despite smashing the record, a lot of doubts were raised and even some people questioned how she managed to pull off such a spectacular performance.

In the post-race interview, Chepng’etich was pressured by a journalist to justify the historic win yet she failed to secure victory in her previous runs at the Chicago Marathon. This sparked mixed reactions globally, With Athletics Kenya immediately defending Chepng’etich over doping claims.

However, following the ratification, Sports CS Murkomen noted that it had helped to put the doubts to rest and allowed the athlete to focus on future races.

“Ruth stunned the world in the Chicago Marathon with a brilliant race to smash the record by close to 2 minutes to become the first woman to cover the distance inside 2:10,” Murkomen’s statement read in part.

“Her record was simply mind-boggling, sparking a lot of debate. This ratification now puts the doubts to rest,” it added.

Beatrice Chebet’s record

Besides Chepng’etich, CS Murkomen also congratulated double Olympics medal winner Beatrice Chebet whose record at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League athletics meeting in Eugene, Oregon was ratified by the World Athletics.

In May 2024 Chebet broke the women’s 10,000m world record with a victory in 28min 54.14sec. She broke the record of 29:01.03 set by Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey in Hengelo on June 8, 2021.

“Congratulations to our stars Beatrice Chebet and Ruth Chepng’etich on having your world records ratified by World Athletics. Beatrice, besides winning two gold medals in the Paris Olympics, had earlier broken the world record in the 10,000m in Eugene when she covered the distance in 28:54.14, shaving 7 seconds off the earlier record set in 2021,” Murkomen added.

Congratulations to our stars Beatrice Chebet and Ruth Chepng'etich on having your world records ratified by World Athletics. Beatrice, besides winning two gold medals in the Paris Olympics, had earlier broken the world record in the 10,000m in Eugene when she covered the distance… pic.twitter.com/KXOZIsy2PH

— KIPCHUMBA MURKOMEN, E.G.H (@kipmurkomen) December 12, 2024