Can Cherotich, Yavi rivalry deliver steeplechase World Record in 2026?
.jpg)
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 28.12.25. | 20:10
In 2024, the Kenyan-born Bahraini missed out on the mark by a fraction of a second
World 3000m steeplechase champion Faith Cherotich and Olympic champion Winfred Yavi dominated the 2025 season, but there was little focus on the World Record.
As the 2026 season draws near, however, the conversation is expected to move that direction given the year is not an Olympic or World Championship year and the mark is not far from reach for the duo.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for more news
The Record is held by Kenya's Beatrice Chepkoech with a time of 8:44.32, set at the Monaco Diamond League meeting on 20 July, 2018, breaking the previous record by over eight seconds. Yavi is 0.07 seconds shy of equaling the mark, while Cherotich is 4.39 seconds off.
Can Cherotich break her compatriot's mark despite the tough competition from her Kenyan-born rival? At 21, Cherotich has already shown her athletics credentials with Diamond League glory in 2024, which she successfully defended this year.
But 2025 proved the year she picked up her first senior global title in a major championship and in some style, with a championship record of 8:51.59 that was almost five seconds clear of her closest challenger.
Yavi can take some solace from having finished the year as the fastest woman in the world, her run of 8:45.25 having comfortably beaten Cherotich in their thrilling clash in Eugene back in July. But when it came to Tokyo, the world and Olympic champion had to make do with the silver medal.
The end-of-year world rankings played out exactly as the World Championships final did, with Ethiopia's Sembo Almayew in third spot in both. Like Cherotich, Almayew has been a rising steeplechase star and the 20-year-old overcame searing pain in her legs down the home straight to win bronze in Tokyo.
Cherotich was the dominant force across the Diamond League, winning four of the six events: in Doha, Oslo, Paris and Zurich. Yavi, though, won arguably the race of the season in the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene with a meeting record and a time that would prove the best of the year.
However, the conversation will not be about the trio. The top ranked five dipped under nine minutes and there were five personal bests in all. A total of six women went sub-9:00 in 2025, one more than in 2024, setting the stage for tough battles in 2026.
Additional information by World Athletics
.jpg)
