Béatrice Chebet, who made history with yet another distance double at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, on her secret to success, moving to the marathon ahead and not letting doubters “get her down”.
Beatrice Chebet is firmly establishing herself as the one to beat when it comes to the women’s space on the track. A year after winning gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the Paris Olympics, she became only the third woman in history to complete the double at the world championships in Tokyo. In both races he used a devastating closing shot to leave his rivals trailing behind him.
Chebet now holds both the Olympic and world titles in the 5000m and 10,000m, as well as the world cross country title, the world 5km road title and the world records in the 5000m, 10,000m and 5km. However, when she sat down with AW the day after her victory in the 25-lap event in Japan, the 25-year-old made it clear that her work is far from done.
How proud are you of what you have accomplished this year?
I am so proud of myself. After winning the Olympics, I got so much motivation and excitement. I still have more room to achieve a lot and I still have the opportunity to do more and better. I think by believing in myself, being focused and doing the right thing, you automatically achieve what you want and when you want something, you go for it.
One of the features of your performances is the large range you have, whether it’s 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m or cross country. How do you cope with so many different events?
During cross country, I just focus on the hurdles. During the track season, I just focus on the track. In the build-up to the 1500m in Silesia (Chebet ran a personal best of 3:54.73 to finish second at the Diamond League meet this season), I just said, “I want to try to run a quad,” so I know that when you just set your mind and focus on one thing, you’ll get there.
After winning gold in cross-country, world championships, the Olympics, and road running, I realized that I was capable of anything. I have decided. “Later I’m going to run well on the roads, in the marathon,” so I still need to be focused in my life. I know that by taking the roads, I will achieve more.
How soon do you think that step up to the marathon could be?
Maybe after the Los Angeles Olympics (2028). I have yet to win more gold medals in track at the Olympics, more at the 2027 World Championships, so I’m not done yet. I still have room to do more on the track and make history.
In these championships we have seen how strong your finishing shot is. How much work goes into perfecting this and making it such a weapon?
I did a lot of work during training. When I come to the championships, I don’t want to fight too much. In competition, you have to calculate to know that you have to have a shot, you have to have that energy to keep going. Speed is important. While I’m doing my workouts, I don’t forget to do the 200s. I always include the 200s and 400s.
Are you good friends with Faith Kipyegon? You’ve competed in track and now you’re both talking about moving into the marathon. How much do you play with each other?
It’s really fun competing with Faith because when I was running as a junior, I watched her run at the senior level. It was an opportunity for me to compete with him in the same event… after winning the 5000m in Paris last year, I said: “You can beat the champion. Beatrice, you are strong.” That’s when I realized that I’m a good athlete, so I can give myself credit. As for traveling by faith, the future will show.
Is that 5000 meters in Paris the race that changed everything for you? The race that changed your mindset and gave you confidence.
Yes! My coach used to say: “You know, you’re strong. I’ve seen your training, you can win the 5000m race”, but I was saying: But after winning, I said: “Oh, that’s right, everyone can win.”
You mentioned Faith as your role model. How much do you like being a role model now and people looking up to you?
Being a role model, you have to have self-discipline, you have to be someone who doesn’t take shortcuts, and when you run, you have to work smart, work for it, and you’ll get there automatically. I know I have to be in a good position, in a good way, because I know a lot of people look up to me and want to follow in my footsteps. All I can say is just stay on the good side.
The number of Kenyan athletes who have tested positive for doping at the moment is disappointing and concerning to you.
Yes, it affects a lot, because when you find out that you are running well, and maybe you break a world record, people will not believe you. They are similar. “If many Kenyan athletes are caught doping, how about him, or what about him holding a world record, surely he will be caught soon.”
Not getting faith from people can get you down sometimes, but when you know you’re doing the right thing, you just have to follow your heart, stay focused and don’t let disappointment get you down. And that’s me. I’m afraid Kenya and the number of dopers are high, but I stand up for Beatrice, I stand up for myself and I do the right thing at the right time.
