The year 2023, when marathon world records were broken for women and men, was the best season in marathon history according to most sports fans. The 2024 season, which started with the women's 10-kilometer record thanks to Agnes Ngetich, already looks like it will push for the top...
Carbon fiber plate, foam sole, high-tech carb gels, and super shoes... Road racing has changed rapidly in the last 10 years. Long-distance running, which once could be done easily by anyone and did not require much equipment or effort, found itself in the technology wars between the R&D departments of major sports brands. And this is just the beginning…
Since 2017, when the super shoes were introduced, both marathon and half marathon records for women and men have been broken repeatedly. The fastest first marathon record has also been renewed more than ten times. Among all these, there is no need to even count the track and championship records.
Agnes Ngetich became the newest member of the road race world record breakers museum. On January 14, 2024, in the 10-kilometer road race held in Valencia, she broke the women's 10-kilometer world record by 28 seconds and became the first female athlete to run 10 kilometers in under 29 minutes. Ngetich, 23, is one of the ambitious members of a new generation of road racers who make old records seem too slow.
Agnes Jebet Ngetich (born January 23, 2001) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She won two medals at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships with bronze in the senior women's race and team gold. In January 2024, she improved the world record for a 10 km run by 28 seconds with a time of 28:46. She also broke the 5km world record by passing the 5km mark in 14:13, 6 seconds faster than the previous world record.
In fact, in the past, road racing was a sport preferred by many long-distance stars after they made a career in tartan and turned 30. In the half marathon and marathon disciplines, where race strategy is at the forefront, athletes have built new careers for themselves over the years, using the experience gained from the harsh years in tartan. But in recent years, athletes in their early 20s have not only entered the races, they have started to close the podiums and break records. When the talent of the new generation is combined with technological developments, it does not seem easy for experience to stop them.
Agnes Ngetich says: “Actually, I started running barefoot, like everyone else... When I moved on to professional races, I started directly with super shoes. “I guess I can consider myself lucky to be one of the first athletes of the new era.” The older generation I mentioned above used classic running shoes at the beginning of their careers but recently had to switch to new shoes. Of course, this required an adjustment period and a long transition.
On the other hand, the new generation, including Agnes, was born into this new era: “The shoes I wore in the race where I broke the 10-kilometer world record, the Adidas Takumi Sen 9, are the shoes I usually prefer to wear in 5 or 10-kilometer races. Thanks to its lightness, it makes it easier for me to increase my speed, and due to its shape, I do not experience any anxiety when turning corners quickly. “This is of great importance in short races.”
A Complete Runner
Like every talented young athlete coming out of Kenya, Agnes Ngetich started her career competing in more than one sport. She won the Kenya U-20 5,000 meter trials at the age of 18, was immediately placed in the top five in the cross-country championship, and then saw his podium finish in the road race in which she made her debut. When you are this talented and have started your career well in more than one field, it is quite difficult to choose one. However, in 2023, his first year competing internationally, Ngetich showed that she did not need to choose either of them.
Ngetich, who is the youngest member of the Kenya Cross Country National Team, won the gold medal at the Cross Country World Championships held in Bathurst, Australia, and became sixth in the world in 10 thousand meters by running his personal best with 31:34.83 at the 2023 World Athletics Championships the same summer. “The season started well, but I was unlucky in Budapest,” says Ngetich. “I was in serious pain due to my menstrual cramps until race time. "I actually thought I could get a medal, but it didn't happen."
While talking about her rapid rise, she does not neglect to offer clues about the future: “I have recently achieved successful results in road races, but I have not forgotten athletics. I don't want to continue the next chapter of my life just on the road. Tartan is a completely different feeling. “I want to go back.”
Normally it's the other way around. Transitioning from athletics to road... Agnes Ngetich is quite different in that regard, too. “Especially lately, my times have been improving according to plan, but I have full faith that I can show the same improvement in athletics. I just need to run more and gain experience. My team and I continue to discuss my race plans and goals. 2024 is the Olympic year. “Who wouldn't want to be in Paris?”
Step by step
Marathons, especially the six major marathons within the World Marathon Major (Tokyo, Berlin, Chicago, New York, Boston, and London), have recently changed with both the prestige they bring to athletes and the ever-increasing prize pool.
Undoubtedly, the degree you get in one of the most difficult sports in the world is already valuable, but every good result also begins to provide a very serious return thanks to the sponsors it attracts. However, both the pressure from sponsors and the fact that the athlete enters more races due to the honor they receive in every organization they go to also opens the door to injuries and means that careers are damaged at an early stage.
Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, who became the world champion in the marathon in 2015 when he was only 19 years old, received invitations from almost every half marathon and marathon organization after his championship. The races he started without adequate regeneration caused him to take a big break from the sport just two years after his world championship. Since his return - in the last eight years - he has only had one podium.
Talent is undoubtedly important, but managing talent is just as valuable. Fortunately, Agnes is in safe hands. “Together with my coach and team, we are doing our best to stay at my best performance and avoid injuries. "This is the thing we pay most attention to when determining my race calendar," says the Kenyan record holder. “This is a sport with very high mental and physical intensity. Luckily my team helps me on both counts. In this way, I can only focus on doing what I enjoy doing most, running.”
At the 2022 Berlin Marathon, Tigst Assefa set the fastest time in the Marathon Major runs with 2:15.37. Sifan Hassan managed to achieve victory in the 2023 London Marathon, her first marathon, where she had to stop twice due to injury. Just a few months ago, she showed us the fastest time ever run by a first-time marathon athlete, 2:16.07, at the 2024 Dubai Marathon.
Speaking of all this, it is undoubtedly impossible not to wonder when Agnes Ngetich's first marathon will arrive. But his every step is planned. “For now, I'm just focusing on the 5 and 10 kilometers. But I definitely want to run a marathon. I am not someone who likes to set limits for myself. I really like pushing the limits. Maybe we can think bigger in the future.”
Ever since she burst onto the running scene at the age of 18, track and field enthusiasts were aware of Agnes Ngetich's potential. After the 10-kilometer world record in Ibercaja, Valencia earlier this year, everyone's expectations are now much higher.