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Agnes Jebet runs season's fastest time over 5,000m
Kenya's Agnes Ng'etich.
Freshly mint women’s only 10 kilometres world record holder, Agnes Ng’etich, ran a world lead and the second fastest women’s time on American soil when winning her Grand Slam Track 5,000m race in Miami.
Ng’etich held off Ethiopian youngster Medina Eisa in a thrilling sprint finish to also win in new personal best of 14 minutes and 25.80 seconds on Friday night in the second of four stops for the new athletics league created by sprinting legend Michael Johnson.
Ng’etich, who had set the new 10km world record a week before at the Adizero Road to Records 2025 in Herzogenaurach, Germany, led from start to finish in a commanding performance.
Eisa clocked 14:25.92, with fellow Ethiopian Hirut Meshesha finishing third in 14:40.46 as Kenya’s Janeth Jepng’etich, who was making her debut in Grand Slam, clocked 14:46.16 for fourth place.
Ng’etich holds both the women’s only and mixed 10km world records.
Ngetich became the first athlete to break 30 minutes in a women’s only 10km, smashing through that barrier with 29:27 at the Adizero Road To Records race.
Ng’etich, who holds the women’s mixed 10km world record of 28:46 from Valencia on January 14, last year, broke the previous world record of 30:01 held by the late Agnes Jebet Tirop from 2021.
“ I tried to push but Eisa was strong and I knew it will drop down to the last kick. I loved the crowd for cheering us to victory. We need that it races,” said Ng’etich
Ng’etich will now be hoping to seal victory in 3,000m on Sunday night for the prize money of US$ 100,000 (Sh 13m) after she finished second in 3,000m and 5,000m during the first leg of the Grand Slam in Kingston, Jamaica last month.
Ejgayehu Taye of Ethiopia won both races in Kingston to take home Sh 13m while Ng’etich pocketed US$ 50,000 (Sh 6.5m) in the long distance track category.
Kenya’s 2019 world 1,500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot settled sixth in 3:35.61 in men’s 1,500m where Great Britain's Josh Kerr (3:34.51) emerged the victor, out-sprinting Americans Yared Nuguse (3:34.65) and Paris 2024 Olympics champion Cole Hocker (3:34.79). The trio returned career best times.
They will battle again in the 800m on Sunday in the short distance category events.
World 800m champion Mary Moraa was to compete in the women's 800m race last night before the 1,500m race on Sunday night. She finished eighth in 800m in Kingston before withdrawing from the 1,500m race with an illness.
Elsewhere, it wasn’t a good outing for Kenyans at the Shanghai Diamond League in China as they played second fiddle.
Kenya's fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, failed in his quest, finishing ninth and last in men's 100m in 10.25. It's South Africa's Akani Simbine, who rallied from behind to seal a double in 9.98, stunning Olympic 100m silver medallist KIshane Thompson in 9.98.
Simbine won the Xiamen Diamond League a week ago in 9.99 where Omanyala finished second in 10.13. Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo, came third in Shanghai in 10.03 after a seventh place in Xiamen.
World under-20 champion Edmund Serem (8:08.68) and Simon Koech (8:09.05) finished second and third respectively in the 3,000m steeplechase, losing to Ethiopian Abrham Sime.
Notably, Olympic 800m silver medalist Tsigie Duguma set a new Ethiopian 800m record in Shanghai, winning in 1:56.64 and breaking Werkuha Getachew’s 2021 mark of 1:56.67.
