Beatrice Chepkoech Sitonik (born 6 July 1991) is a Kenyan

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who specialises in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

. She won gold medals at the 2019 World Championships and 2018 African Championships and silver medal at the 2023 World Championships. In the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

, Chepkoech took silver at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

and bronze at the

2015 African Games The 11th African Games (), also known as Brazzaville 2015, took place from September 4–19, 2015 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. This edition marked the 50th anniversary of the Games, as well as their return to Brazzaville, which hosted t ...

. She is the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder for the 3000 m steeplechase with a time of 8:44.32 set in 2018 in

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. With that mark she became the first woman to break the 8:50 and 8:45 barriers in the event. Chepkoech is a two-time 3000 m steeplechase

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

champion and won two Kenyan national titles.

Career

Beatrice Chepkoech began her career in

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

, taking top three placings at several low-key races in Germany and Netherlands in 2014. She switched to

track running Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

in 2015 and set a

personal best of 4:03.28 to win the race at the

KBC Night of Athletics The KBC Night of Athletics () is an annual athletics event at the Stadium De Veen in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. It is officially presented and sponsored by the KBC Bank KBC Group N.V. is a Belgian universal multi-channel bank-insurer, focusing ...

. This time placed her just outside the top twenty athletes for the season and she was the fifth-fastest Kenyan. A bronze medal in the event followed at the

. Chepkoech ended her 2015 season with a run in the 2000 metres steeplechase at the

ISTAF Berlin The Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) is an annual track and field athletics meeting at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. It was first held in July 1921 at the Deutsches Stadion, which was replaced from 1937 by the Stadium of the 1936 ...

, finishing a close second in a quality field and beating 2015 world bronze steeplechase medallist

Gesa Felicitas Krause Gesa Felicitas Krause (born 3 August 1992) is a German athlete who specialises in the 3000 m steeplechase. She won bronze medals in steeplechase at both the 2015 and 2019 World Championships, and represented Germany at the 2012, 2016, and 2021 O ...

. This prompted her to try the full 3000 m Olympic event. She made a successful transition and the steeplechase her main focus in 2016. On the Diamond League circuit she ran 9:17.41 for fourth at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic is a track and field meet held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Organized by the Oregon Track Club, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, and ...

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before taking second at the

BAUHAUS-galan BAUHAUS-galan, formerly known as DN-Galan is an annual, international Sport of athletics, athletics meeting that takes place at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. Previously it was one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix e ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. Chepkoech ranked fifth in the world upon entry to the

2016 Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, where she finished fourth with a time of 9:16.05. She set a new personal best of 9:10.86 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

later that month. In 2017, Chepkoech won her first

race, taking 3000 m steeplechase victory in Paris with a time of 9:01.69. At the London World Championships in August, she missed a water jump and had to run back in the final, finishing a disappointing fourth in 9:10.45. At the end of August, she broke for the first time the nine-minute barrier, clocking 8:59.84 for second in

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circuit final. She finished second in the 1500 m at the

held in Gold Coast, Australia. On 20 July that year, the 27-year-old obliterated the women's 3000 m steeplechase world record by more than eight seconds with a time of 8:44.32 at the Monaco Herculis meeting (highlights ). She beat the mark of 8:52.78 set by Kenyan-born-Bahraini Ruth Jebet in 2016. Chepkoech then claimed the gold medal in the event at the

African Championships An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between Africa, African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports club, sports clubs. List of championships ;Athletics * African ...

the following month, setting a championship record of 8:59.88 in the process. She earned her first

title in her specialist event that year, securing three victories out of the five events, including final in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In 2019, she competed in the senior women's race at the

World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

held in March in

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, Denmark, finishing in seventh place. In September, the 28-year-old triumphed in the 3000 m steeplechase at the Doha World Championships in Qatar with a time of 8:57.84, breaking the championship record in the process. Chepkoech won her second steeplechase Diamond Trophy that year, winning four of the five events, including final in Zürich. In February 2021, she broke the 5 km road world record in a time of 14 minutes 43 seconds at the Monaco Run. The previous world record in a mixed gender race was set by Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui in 2018 with 14:48. Chepkoech's time bettered also

Sifan Hassan Sifan Hassan (; born January 1993 in Ethiopia) is a Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world-leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unpr ...

's women only record of 14:44 set in 2019. Chepkoech placed seventh in her signature event with a time of 9:16.33 at the postponed

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in August. She was forced to withdraw from the 2022 World Championship held in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

in July due to an injury.

Achievements

All information from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

profile.

Personal bests

– 4:59.73 (

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

2024) *

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

– 8:22.92 (

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

2020) * 2000 metres steeplechase – 6:02.47 (

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

2015) *

– 8:44.32 (

2018)

World record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

;Road * 5 km – 14:43 (

2021) *

10 km 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

– 32:35 (

Hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

2014)

International competitions

Circuit wins and titles, National titles

champion 3000 m steeplechase (2): Diamond blue

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

(1): Paris Meeting **

(3): Paris ( ), Monaco Herculis (), Brussels Memorial Van Damme **

(4):

Shanghai Diamond League The Shanghai Diamond League is an annual athletics event at the Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, China, as part of the Diamond League. The meeting was founded as the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in 2005. The meet assumed its current name in 2010. Fro ...

(WL ),

Stanford, CA Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...

(WL MR), Birmingham British Grand Prix (MR), Zürich Weltklasse *

Kenyan Athletics Championships The Kenyan Athletics Championships is an annual track and field meeting which serves as Kenya's national championships for the sport. Athletics Kenya, the country's governing body for athletics organises the event. The championships is usually hel ...

: 2017 **

: 2018

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chepkoech, Beatrice Living people 1991 births Kenyan female steeplechase runners Kenyan female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 African Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 African Games African Games gold medalists for Kenya African Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games bronze medalists for Kenya African Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Kenyan female cross country runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Kenya Commonwealth Games athletes for Kenya Sportspeople from Kericho County World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Diamond League winners African Championships in Athletics winners IAAF Continental Cup winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics