Beatrice Chebet discloses how she conquers her opponents even before starting a race

Beatrice Chebet discloses how she conquers her opponents even before starting a race

Abigael Wafula 09:00 - 19.10.2024

Beatrice Chebet, reigning world 5000m bronze medallist, has shared how she manages pre-race tension and how once the race starts, her anxiety fades.

Reigning world 5000m bronze medallist Beatrice Chebet has opened up about how she manages to handle tensions during warm-up sessions and just before the race starts.

Beatrice Chebet explained that it is normal to feel the pressure when watching other athletes warm up and it is hard to detect who has better legs on race day hence the reason behind her focus on herself.

The double Olympic champion, speaking on Churchill Show, pointed out that it is not until the race starts that she can predict how she might perform since she can gauge her competitors.

“We always just warm together because when you look at everybody, you can never know who is strong and it all depends on how someone has woken up on that day. However, tension is always there as usual even when you are on the starting line. When the race starts, the tension goes away and it now becomes a fight for everybody,” Beatrice Chebet said.

The Kenyan running ace added that sometimes, the body fails to show up as expected and that’s when you see top athletes performing dismally. She noted that there is a numbness that comes and it requires force to move the body.

However, on good days, Beatrice Chebet added that an athlete can even decide to run a solo race, just like she did at the Diamond League Meeting in Zurich and threatened Gudaf Tsegay’s 5000m world record.

She has been in great shape this season, clocking fast times and achieving milestones like becoming the first Kenyan woman to win the 5000m and 10,000m Olympic titles. She had also defended her cross-country title at the World Cross-country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

Beatrice Chebet also shattered the 10,000m world record at the Prefontaine Classic and capped off her season with the Diamond League trophy in Brussels.

“It depends on how the body responds…you can begin a race thinking everything is okay but sometimes the body just locks and you can’t move. There are times when the body responds very well and you can decide to leave the leading group as early as two laps to go or wait for the last 200m, it depends on how much you believe in yourself,” she said.

The Commonwealth Games champion will be out to make an impact at the 2025 World Championships, hoping to claim her first gold medal as she aims to cement her place as one of the greatest.