Beatrice Chebet set for end-year Marathon in Barcelona

Kenyan star Beatrice Chebet will feature in the upcoming Cursa dels Nassos road race in Barcelona on December 31.

The race is set to witness an ambitious attempt to break the women’s 5k world record, featuring the podium from the recent World Road Running Championships in Riga.

Beatrice Chebet/Kasait

Chebet and Lilian Kasait, along with Ethiopian athlete Ejgayehu Taye, all medalists from the championship, will be participating in the event.

The 2019 World Cross Country Championships witnessed a remarkable performance by Chebet. In the women’s U20 race, the top three athletes – Chebet and the Ethiopian duo of Alemitu Tariku and Tsigie Gebreselama – all crossed the finish line together with a recorded time of 20:50.

Initially, Tariku was declared the winner, and Gebreselama was awarded silver. However, after a thorough review of the photo finish footage, Chebet rightfully received the gold medal. Additionally, in the same year, she secured victory at the Kenyan U20 National Cross Country Championships.

The pinnacle of Chebet’s success in 2022 occurred in July at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. She claimed the silver medal in a closely contested 5000-meter race, finishing with a time of 14:46.75. Gudaf Tsegay secured the gold with a time of 14:46.29, while Chebet edged ahead of Dawit Seyaum (14:47.36) to secure her well-deserved silver.

This high-profile lineup adds special significance to the 2023 Cursa dels Nassos, with a primary goal of breaking the current women’s world record for the five-kilometre race set at 14:29.

The commitment to top-tier female representation is a key focus of the race, as highlighted by David Escudé, the Sports Councilor of Barcelona City Council, during the race presentation press conference.

The event, now in its 25th edition, aims to establish itself as a global reference in women’s sports by featuring athletes who recently excelled in the world championship in road athletics.

Beatrice Chebet in Cursa dels Nassos

Escudé emphasized the primary objective of the competition: breaking the world record for a five-kilometre exclusively female race. The Cursa dels Nassos, having organized an international five-kilometre race for four consecutive years, currently holds the men’s and women’s world records in the mixed race.

In addition to the elite women’s race, the men’s category will see participation from refugee athlete Dominic Lobalu from South Sudan, residing in Switzerland, known for an impressive 5,000-meter record of 12:52.

The event will host notable runners, including 18 athletes with times clocking less than 14:00, such as Spanish athletes Ilias Fifa and Abdessamad Oukhelfen.

The elite athletes’ race, scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. for men and 4:25 p.m. for women, promises to be a spectacle for participants of the popular ten-kilometer race and other spectators. The 10k race will maintain its circular route, commencing at 5:15 p.m. on Selva de Mar street near Ramon Calsina square.