This archive report was first published on 3 October 2021.
Kenya's Margaret Chelimo made history on October 3, 2021, in Valencia, Spain, when she smashed the 10,000m World record with a time of 29 minutes and 50 seconds.
Chelimo's achievement came during the Ibercaja Road Race in Valencia, where she outpaced her competitors to set a new record for the 10km race.
Speaking after the event, Chelimo expressed her surprise at breaking the world record, saying, 'I had planned to run a good race because I had prepared well and I’m just happy that I managed a world record time. This is huge for me and it has come at the moment we are preparing for the next season.'
Chelimo's record-breaking performance marked a significant achievement for the Kenyan athlete, who had previously won the 10km Boclassic race in Italy by a second in December 2020.
On the same day, Joyciline Jepkosgei, another Kenyan athlete, emerged victorious in the 2021 London Marathon, clocking in at 2 hours 17 minutes 43 seconds and breaking the 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 20 seconds record set by Brigid Kosgei in 2019.
