Tokyo World Championships: Beatrice Chebet remains queen of the 10,000m

Four years after pandemic-era Olympic Games, Tokyo welcomes the planet’s greatest athletes from September 13 to 21. The women’s 10,000m, held on Saturday afternoon, opened the first track final of the World Championships at the National Stadium in the Japanese capital, bringing together a star-studded field rarely seen over the distance. But after 25 laps, one rocket emerged above the rest: Beatrice Chebet. The Kenyan Olympic champion and world-record holder (28:54.14) confirmed her reign with a devastating acceleration down the home straight, clocking an unremarkable 30:37.61. It was a thoroughly deserved first world title for the Kenyan distance runner, who had focused primarily on the 5,000m, winning titles at the Olympic Games, Diamond League, Commonwealth Games and African Championships. She now has her sights set on joining legends such as Tirunesh Dibaba and Vivian Cheruiyot by completing the 5,000m/10,000m double at the World Championships. At 25, Chebet has decided to take a slice of the cake in several disciplines. So far, she is doing it rather successfully.

It was a difficult and very tactical race, but I ran the last 800 metres very hard. Tsegay pushed a lot and I had to keep going. I ran the 1,500m in Silesia, so my mind was as if I were racing the 1,500m. I had to push and follow, and motivate myself, but I wanted that gold medal so badly. I had never won gold at the World Championships, so I convinced myself I was going to get it. It was on my mind throughout the race. This title means a lot to me and I hope it will motivate young athletes. (…) It has been a long season, so we are going to close it out and go on holiday. Maybe after Los Angeles, at the 2028 Olympic Games, I will try the marathon. But for now, I am staying on the track.

Battocletti takes silver again

Beatrice Chebet’s achievement was helped by the absence of one contender who could have pushed her fiercely. The 2019 Doha world champion over the distance and Olympic champion in the same Tokyo stadium in 2021, Sifan Hassan was unable to compete at these World Championships in Japan, although she has announced that she will run the New York City Marathon on November 2. That opened the door for Italy’s Nadia Battocletti, who ran brilliantly to finish second, just as she did at the last World Championships, setting a national record of 30:38.23. The 25-year-old Italian shared the podium with Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay (30:39.65), who paid for her early move in the closing metres.

Beatrice Chebet our World Champion 🇰🇪 🥇
pic.twitter.com/WXZqRMMpiw

— ERIC OMONDI (@ericomondi_) September 13, 2025

A fast start blows the field apart

Buoyed by the home crowd, Japan’s Ririka Hironaka (sixth in 31:09.62) boldly took the lead over the opening laps, drawing huge cheers from the stadium. But the Kenyan plan soon fell into place. With Agnes Jebet Ngetich and then Chebet taking turns at the front, the favourites pushed the pace before halfway. The result was a shattered field and several casualties, including Janeth Chepngetich, one of the medal contenders, who was forced to drop out. Behind them, the Ethiopians, fresh from their clean sweep at the 2023 Budapest World Championships, stayed together with Fotyen Tesfay, Ejgayehu Taye and, above all, Tsegay, the defending world champion. But only Tsegay could respond to the changes of pace.

A blazing final kilometre

In the middle of this African battle, one European stayed in contention. Battocletti, the Italian, joined the leading group from the 5km mark. Patient and strong, she never gave way despite the Kenyan and Ethiopian surges. Just as she had in Budapest two years earlier, she hung on to give herself a chance in the sprint. The race opened up after 9,000m. Tsegay launched the first attack, dropping Taye and raising the tension. That left a formidable quartet: Chebet, Ngetich, Battocletti and Tsegay. The Kenyan waited for her moment, then delivered a decisive acceleration over the final 200m. Uncatchable, she powered towards gold. Behind her, Battocletti claimed a magnificent silver medal. “I’m starting to like silver medals, the young distance runner from northern Italy joked in the mixed zone. This year has been difficult after last year’s Olympic Games, but I knew I was ready to run fast. It’s really important for a European girl to win a medal at this event with all the African runners. On the last lap, I realised I was a little too far behind the leader. I wanted to go faster over the final 300 metres. Unfortunately, I missed my chance at gold, but I’m proud.”

Gudaf Tsegay settles for third before the 5,000m

At 28, Tsegay had to dig deep in the closing stages to secure bronze, and she made no attempt to hide her delight after a superb 10,000m. “The World Championships are always very special to me, said the 2022 world champion. Winning my fifth medal is incredible. It means a lot, not only to me but to all of Ethiopia. Coming here as the defending world champion was a huge responsibility and I did everything I could to defend my title. I was in control of the race at nine kilometres, but then I decided to push. It wasn’t a tactical mistake. Physically, I was ready for a fast finish, but the biggest challenge for me was the weather. Even though I trained in hot conditions, I didn’t expect the humidity to be so high. I did my best, but the other girls were a little faster at the finish. That’s our sport. It’s incredible and unpredictable.” Ngetich, who had battled for much of the race, faded over the final metres to finish in 30:42.66, while Taye (30:55.52) came home well adrift of the leaders. Barring any mishaps in the semi-finals, all these distance stars will meet again next Saturday at 2:29 p.m. for a major 5,000m showdown, where the formidable Faith Kipyegon is also likely to join them.