Cheptai leads Kenyan sweep in Bengaluru 10km

Irene Cheptai ran a course record of 30:35 at the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) World 10K Bengaluru on Sunday 15 May.

Cheptai took 44 seconds off the women’s course record which had stood to the late Agnes Tirop at 31:19 since 2018 as she also defeated Hellen Obiri. 

After a super-fast opening two kilometres of 3:02 and 3:04, a quick time was always likely and the race was soon down to just three women at the front, Cheptai, two-time world 5000m champion Obiri and fellow Joyce Tele.

Tele started to lose contact with her compatriots in the fifth kilometre before Obriri, pushing the pace with Cheptai running in her slipstream, passed the halfway point in 15:15.

Obiri led the race for the next two kilometres, going through 6km in 18:23 and 7km in 21:32, before Cheptai took her turn to push at the front for a kilometre as Obiri briefly went through a bad patch. 

However, Obiri soon recovered her poise and regained the lead just after embarking on the penultimate kilometre.

The Kenyan pair carried on their enthralling head-to-head battle, but with just 250 metres to go Cheptai darted past Obiri and was never headed before crossing the line in a personal best of 30:35, her first time inside 31 minutes.

Obiri eased off once she knew the race was lost but still came home in an outstanding 30:44, also inside Tirop’s former course record, while Tele was a distant third in 31:47 to complete an all-Kenyan podium.

“When we raced through an inclined patch on the route, just after 7km, I felt like Hellen’s pace reduced, that is when I tried harder to take lead,” said Cheptai. “But even when I entered the stadium for the final lap, I was fearing Hellen and kept pushing my speed to win.”

Additional reporting by World Athletics