Womenâs world 1500m record
3:49.11 Faith Kipyegon (KEN) Florence 2 June 2023
Womenâs world 5000m record
14:05.20 Faith Kipyegon (KEN) Paris 9 June 2023
Menâs world 3000m steeplechase record
7:52.11 Lamecha Girma (ETH) Paris 9 June 2023
Womenâs world 35km race walk record
2:37:15 Maria Perez (ESP) Podebrady 21 May 2023
World records set this season by Faith Kipyegon, Lamecha Girma and Maria Perez have been ratified.
Kenyaâs Kipyegon has achieved three world records since June and two of those marks â in the womenâs 1500m and 5000m â are now officially in the record books. Her womenâs mile record set in Monaco on 21 July is pending ratification.
The first of Kipyegonâs world records was set at the Golden Gala, a Wanda Diamond League meeting, in Florence on 2 June. On that occasion, the two-time world and Olympic champion ran 3:49.11 to break the womenâs world 1500m record of 3:50.07 that had been set by Ethiopiaâs Genzebe Dibaba in Monaco on 17 July 2015.
âThereâs still more to come,â said Kipyegon after taking down the eight-year-old record. âIâm still working on running faster than that, faster than 3:49. Iâm really thankful today that I managed to run 3:49 and Iâm still heading towards beautiful races in the rest of the season.â
She was right. Just one week later she raced at the Meeting de Paris, also a Wanda Diamond League event, on 9 June and stepped up to the 5000m. While her original aim might not have been the world record of 14:06.62 set by Ethiopiaâs Letesenbet Gidey in Valencia on 7 October 2020, Kipyegon still broke it, running 14:05.20 in just her third ever race at the distance.
Speeding up with every stride, she hit the bell in 13:04.1 and covered the final lap in 61.1 seconds for a 1.42-second improvement on Gideyâs mark.
âI didnât think about the world record, I donât know how I made it,â said a surprised Kipyegon. âI just wanted to improve on my PB, the world record was not my plan. I just ran after Gidey â she is an amazing lady.â
That wasnât the only world record achieved in Paris. On one of the greatest nights in athletics, Ethiopiaâs Girma set his sights on the menâs world 3000m steeplechase record of 7:53.63 set by Qatarâs Saif Saaeed Shaheen on 3 September 2004. An ambitious pace was requested  â one that would result in a finishing time of around 7:52 â and thatâs exactly what Girma managed as he crossed the finish line in 7:52.11 to take 1.52 seconds off the mark set 19 years prior.
âI feel so happy,â said Girma, who started his year with a world indoor record over 3000m. âIâm happy and very proud. I felt so fast during the race, so confident. The world record is not a surprise; it was my plan to beat it tonight in Paris. Itâs the result of my full determination.â
Perez achieved her world record in Podebrady on 21 May, clocking 2:37:15 to improve the womenâs 35km race walk mark by 29 seconds.
The Spanish athlete was a dominant winner at the European Race Walking Team Championships, a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold event, where she eclipsed the world record of 2:37:44 that had been set by Peru’s double world champion Kimberly Garcia in Dudince on 25 March.
“It is a nice feeling to finish the race and the time is a big reward,” said Perez. “I did not think of any time or any special target before the start, I just wanted to finish the best I could. So, the record time was definitely not my goal today. I am happy to do my best and I am glad to see that race walk can be attractive and can attract such great crowds like in Podebrady.”
World Athletics
