It was a great year for African women in Athletics as they not just delivered incredible and consistent performances throughout the season but did so in trailblazing and historic style, further solidifying their status as the pride of the continent. Without further ado, let’s have a look at the second part of our series on Africa’s Top 10 Female Athletes in 2024. Here’s the link to Part 1.
5. Mary Moraa
The reigning World 800m Champion kicked off her 2024 campaign in a rather unusual fashion at the African Games, competing in both the 400m and mixed 4x400m. She won GOLD in the women’s 400m in a World Leading (WL) time of 50.57s and took Bronze in the mixed 4x400m.
Moraa started competing in her primary event at the Kip Keino Classic, dominating the competition in a Season’s Best (SB) of 1:57.96. She kept improving on her times, winning the Doha Diamond League in 1:57.91 and placed 2nd at the Eugene Diamond League in an SB of 1:56.71.
Moraa clinched the Bronze medal at the Olympics with a time of 1:57.42. She followed her Olympic outing with an array of victories from the Lausanne, Zurich and Brussel Diamond Leagues. Her triumph in Brussels made her two-time Diamond League Final winner, reclaiming her title from 2022. Additionally, Moraa’s winning time of 1:56.56 was her 2nd fastest career time. At her final meet of the season, she placed 2nd in the 800m at the inaugural Athlos Meet.
4. Tsige Duguma
Running indoors for the first time, Duguma was unbeaten in every race she participated in. After earning back-to-back victories at the IFAM Gent and Belgrade Indoor Meets, she made history by becoming the first Ethiopian woman to win GOLD in the 800m at the World Indoor Championships, racing to a new Personal Best (PB) of 1:58.35 in the semis.
She launched her outdoor season at the African Games where she won the 800m title in a PB of 1:57.73, slashing off almost two seconds from her previous lifetime best. Two months later, she bettered her PB at the L.A Grand Prix to 1:57.56 to place 2nd in the 800m.
Making her Olympic debut in Paris, Duguma ran the race of her life to claim the Silver medal in a new PB of 1:57.15, finishing ahead of reigning World Champion Mary Moraa and improving on her previous lifetime best of 1:57.47 set in the semis. This feat earned Duguma the honour of becoming the first Ethiopian woman to medal at the Olympics over that distance. She capped her trailblazing season on a high note at the Athlos Meet, claiming the 800m ahead of Moraa once again in yet another sub 1:58 time of 1:57.43.
3. Ruth Chepngetich
Ruth Chepngetich left the world speechless when she became the first woman to go under 2:11 and 2:10 respectively at the Chicago Marathon in a new World Record (WR) of 2:09.56. The 2019 World Champion in the women’s marathon, won back-to-back titles at the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Chicago Marathon but lost to Sifan Hissan at the 2023 edition of the race. Entering the 2024 edition, she had one thing in mind, which was to reclaim her title and she absolutely delivered. The Kenyan decimated the entire field by a margin of almost 8 minutes, smashing the previous WR of 2:11.53 set last year by Tigst Assefa of Ethopia by almost two minutes.
2. Faith Kipyegon
After Kipyegon smashed her 1500m World Record (WR) at the Paris Diamond League, which happened to be her first major international competition of 2024, there was no doubt that the Kenyan was the overwhelming favourite for the Olympic title in the event.
During the Paris Olympics, she commenced her outing with the 5000m where she was the reigning World Champion but had to settle for Silver after a late charge from her compatriot, Beatrice Chebet. Kipyegon overcame the disappointment to win her third consecutive Olympic GOLD medal in the 1500m with a sensational time of 3:51.29, bettering her previous Olympic Record (OR) in the process and becoming the first athlete (male or female) to win three successive 1500m titles at the Olympic Games, further cementing her place as one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time.
Kipyegon wasn’t done yet as she extended her winning streak over the 1500m, claiming the trophy at the Brussels Diamond League Final. She wrapped up her season at the Athlos Meet where she once again roared to victory in the 1500m.
1. Beatrice Chebet
Before the Paris Games, Beatrice Chebet had never won a global title in the 5000m or 10,000m. She hadn’t raced in the 10,000m until the 2024 season where she announced herself to the world by breaking the World Record (WR) at the Prefontaine Classic, becoming the first woman in history to break the 29-minute barrier (28:54.14).
At the Olympics, Chebet finally claimed her first global 5000m title after winning Silver and Bronze medals respectively in the last two editions of the World Championships, stunning compatriot and former WR holder and reigning World Champion, Faith Kipyegon who settled for Silver. Exactly four days later, the Kenyan returned to the tracks for the 10,000m where she emerged the firm favourite to defeat Sifan Hassan and Gudaf Tsegay who were the reigning Olympic and World Champions respectively.
Chebet charged to GOLD to become the first Kenyan woman to win the event and the third woman in Olympic history to win both the 5000m and 10,000m at a single Games. The Kenyan kept her fine form for the remainder of the season, claiming victories at the Zurich Diamond League and Brussels Diamond League Final in the 5000m.
