Ambitious Janeth Chepngetich hopes for medal in Tokyo
Sports
By
Stephen Rutto
| Jul 29, 2025
Reigning Africa 10,000m champion Janeth Chepngetich is an athletics star on a mission as she gets ready for the World Championships Tokyo25.
Chepngetich has been on a steady rise to stardom and her major assignment this year is flying the Kenyan colours in the women’s 10,000m at the September 13-21 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
To demonstrate her readiness for the global showpiece, Chepngetich topped the 10,000m race during the national trials for the Tokyo World Championships, an event staged on Tuesday last week at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.
Following her closely at the national event were world record holders Beatrice Chebet and Agnes Ngetich.
Chepngetich, who had on July 5 missed the women’s 5000m ticket to Tokyo after finishing 12th in a night that Chebet shattered the world record in the distance at the Eugene Diamond League, has expressed her podium ambitions ahead of the 2025 World Championships.
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The 26-year-old athlete will be taking to Tokyo an experience spanning a decade.
“My main target in Tokyo is to reach the podium. I am happy that I qualified in the 10,000m by clinching the first position,” she says.
Ten years ago, Chepngetich first rose to stardom in an international arena when she bagged a bronze medal in 1500m at the Africa Youth championships.
Chepngetich, who represented Kenya at the 2024 Paris Olympics alongside Chebet and Margaret Chelimo says she will be teaming up with the 5000m and 10,000m record breaker as well Ngetich (10km world record holder) and Margaret Akidor in her dream for the first world senior medal.
Despite not finishing in the top ten at the Eugene Diamond League, Chepngetich ran her personal best of 14:40.25 in 5000m.
“We will be going to Tokyo as a team and we will be teaming up as compatriots. It will be historic if we all bring the medals home,” says Chepngetich.
In February this year, Chepngetich came in second at the Sirikwa Classic World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting at the Lobo Village in Eldoret. She finished behind Agnes Ngetich.
“I competed in cross country and it was a major buildup for the season,” the long distance track athlete who has also delivered stunning performances on the road, said.
While still a junior, Chepngetich subsequently competed over 1500m at the 2015 World Youth Championships in Athletics in Cali, Colombia.
When she started striking a balance between road and track racing, she won the 2022 Udine Half Marathon in a course record time of 1:08.24.
Also in her impressive CV is a runner-up place at the Prague half marathon in April 2023. In September that year, again running on the road, Chepngetich won the women's Birell 10km Race in Prague, in a time of 30:21.
In January 2024, she finished fourth at the Valencia 10k in a time of 29:55.
But her most recent achievement is winning a tough 10,000m show at the 2023 African Games staged last year in Accra, Ghana.
Chepngetich, who staged a solo battle, outkicked Ethiopian women, Wede Kefale and Tekan Amare about 110m before sprinting to the finish line in a super speed, gloriously bagging gold.
“Top in my training is building speed and endurance through speed work. I had gone to the national trials to run my own race but the real work begins now that I have secured the ticket,” a confident Chepngetich says.