Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet delivered brilliant performances at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on July 5.

The two Kenyan superstars brought the Hayward Field arena to a standstill as they set new world records in amazing fashion.

Chebet became the first woman to run the 5000m under 14 minutes as she set a time of 13:58.06. The Olympic champion in the event ran a decisive last leg to shake off the former world record holder, Gudaf Tsegay and road specialist Agnes Jebet.

Jebet settled for second with a personal best of 14:01.29, while Tsegay was third with 14:04.41. Tsegay's previous world record stood at 14:00.21.

The last race of the day featured Kipyegon and her favourite 1500m. It was Kipyegon's first race since her bold Breaking4 attempt in Paris last week.

The 31-year-old had Ethiopia's Diribe Welteji and Jessica Hull for company, but as usual, employed her amazing kick in the home straight to leave them in her wake.

Kipyegon clawed down the last 100m to lower her own world record from 3:49.04 to 3:48.68. Welteji and Hull had to settle for second and third, respectively.

Kipyegon and Chebet are set to reap handsome rewards from the improved prize structure of the Diamond League events.

Winners now get 10,000 USD (KSh 1.2 million) in the normal 14 races across the season and 30,000 USD (KSh 3.8 million) in the final.

Additionally, there is a 50,000 USD (KSh 6.4 million) bonus for breaking a world record at Diamond League events.

Therefore, the total amount of money Kipyegon and Chebet will get is around KSh 7.6 million.

Speaking after the race, Kipyegon credited her mile race in Paris as the reason behind breaking her own world record.

"I think the changes were that I was preparing myself for something special, which was to run under four minutes in a mile, and I think I pushed myself, getting better and better toward the 1500, so I knew it was possible to still run under 3:49. I'm grateful to God that I made it today because I talked about it last week, and here I am breaking the world record," she said, as captured on the Diamond League's website.

Chebet, on the other hand, admitted that she drew inspiration from Kipyegon. After a close race in Rome, the double Olympic champion was determined to get to right in Eugene.

"I'm so happy; after running in Rome, I said I have to prepare for a record, because in Rome I was just running to win a race. But after running 14:03, I said that I'm capable of running a world record. So, let me go back home and then come to Eugene. When I was coming here to Eugene, I was coming to prepare to run a world record, and I said I had to try. I said if Faith is trying, why not me? I'm so happy because I've achieved being the first woman to run under 14. I'm so happy for myself"

The two athletes are gearing up for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Kipyegon is the reigning champion in the 1500m and 5000m.

In a related report, Kipyegon was suited in a FlyWeb bra for her Breaking4 race in Paris on June 26.

The mother of one failed in her quest to dip below four minutes in the mile race but broke new ground in the event.

The race was run under special conditions with Nike using state-of-the-art technology.

Source: TUKO.co.ke