Cheptegei breaks men's 10,000m world record, Gidey smashes women's 5,000m world record

ByEurosport

Updated 08/10/2020 at 10:10 GMT

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei broke the men’s 10,000m world record at the Valencia World Record Day on Wednesday evening. Cheptegei was racing at a day created in response to his own outstanding current form.

Joshua Cheptegei and Letesenbet Gidey

Image credit: Eurosport

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei has broken the men’s 10,000m world record at the Valencia World Record Day on Wednesday evening, while Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey broke the women's 5,000m world record.

The 24-year-old recorded a time of 26:11:02 at the Estadi Del Turia which beat Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele’s 15-year-old world record of 26:17:53.

"I wanted to lift the expectation of Valencia so it means the world to be that I am living my dream," Cheptegei said afterwards.

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"It means something great to me. You are trying to write history and let the people know that track is still exciting. Sports lovers in the world have the benefit of time by seeing us now [during Covid]."

Gidey demolished the women's 5,000 metres world record by more than four seconds earlier in the evening, crossing the line in 14 minutes 6.62 seconds.

Gidey, 22, easily beat the previous record of 14:11:15 set by her compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba in Oslo in 2008.