With the Olympics in France set to be held in 2 weeks, The Nairobi Tribune focuses on 5 female athletes heading to track in their best fitness form to break world records.
As the Paris 2024 action happens later this month, several athletes are already top favorites to bag gold medals, but there are also those looking beyond victory.
Runners are getting fit from dawn to attain their peak conditions fit for winning medals.
Many world records will tumble and it will be more magical to win Olympic gold and set new records!
The Nairobi Tribune highlights 5 top female athletes who are odds-on favorites to break world records in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
5. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone-400m hurdles.
The American athlete Sydney, announced her zeal to retain her Olympic medal and a world record at the Olympic trials in the US in June 2024.
She faces her fiercest competitor Dutch Athlete Femke Bol, who is the current European and World Champion, considering her impressive finish time with 50.65 seconds at the Olympic trials in Eugene, few can rule out Mclaughlin’s hunt for gold or a World record in Paris.
The US Olympic Trials 2024 were at Hayward Field in Oregon, the same venue where Sydney McLaughlin set a new world record 2 years earlier by clocking 50.68 seconds during the 2022 World Championships.
4. Peres Jepchirchir – Marathon
The Kenyan international Peres Jepchirchir heads to the Paris Olympics 2024 as a female athlete to conquer the marathon after her swift display in London.
Peres Jepchirchir improved the women-only world marathon by running a record time of 2:16:16 and adjusted record books by 45 seconds in April 2024.
She is the current defending champion in the marathon and it is upon her to retain the title, Peres faces closest rivals from her backyard including Sharon Lokedi and Helen Obiri, and Ethiopian neighbors like the world record holder Tigist Assefa, Megertu Alemu, and world champion Amane Beriso who will give Jepchirchir run for her money.
3. Gudaf Tsegay- 5000m or 10,000m
The Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay is the current 5,000m world record holder and she is going for nothing less than 3 titles at the Paris Olympics 2024 after registering for three track competitions in the 1,500m,5,000m, and 10,000m categories tripling her chances to break a world record.
Gudaf set her best personal time of 29:01.03 and finished behind Chebet Beatrice of Kenya who ran a new world record of 28:54.14 in Prefontaine Classic in May. Tsegay has expressed the desire to break fellow countrywoman Letesenbet Gidey’s 10,000m world record of 29:01.3 officially set in June 2021.
Gudaf Tsegay clocked 29:05.92 in Eugene, Oregon, and finished second but that has not affected her performance and she will be facing it off with Faith Kipyegon for her quest for gold and a faster pace is expected which could break a world record.
2. Shericka Jackson-200m
Shericka Jackson, a Jamaican sprinter, is expected to intensify her campaign to achieve her first Olympics gold medal and she heads to Paris as the sprint queen to beat in the 200m track.
There were fears of injury after she pulled up a few meters to the finish line on Tuesday at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix. The scares of apparent injury were immediately dispelled, setting the stage for a great sprinting exploits in the Paris Olympics.
Jackson has her eyes fixed on breaking the world record currently held by Elaine Thompson-Herah who is missing in action at the 2024 Olympics leaving the track for Shericka to dominate.
- Faith Kipyegon- 1500m
The Kenyan athletic superstar Faith Kipyegon already announced her desire in the Paris Olympics after breaking her own 1500m world record at the Diamond League track and field meeting in Paris last Sunday. She ran 3:49.04 lowering her previous record of 3:49.11 set in Italy last year.
Kipyegon knew the world record was possible because she recently ran very fast in Kenya clocking 3:53.98 at Kenya’s Olympic Trials. Faith believes she is in her best shape to defend her Olympic title.
The 30-year-old mother of one is looking for a hat trick as she sets her guns blazing to hunt for a third Olympics gold medal, and going by her current performance, another world record is inevitable.
