Beatrice Chepkoech's biography, family, husband, achievements, world record

Beatrice Chepkoech's biography, family, husband, achievements, world record

Kenneth Mwenda, Peris Walubengo
updated at February 13, 2024 at 11:54 AM

Beatrice Chepkoech's biography depicts her fantastic journey in the world of athletics. The Kenyan long-distance runner specializes in 3000-metre steeplechase. She won gold medals at the 2018 African Championships and 2019 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships. Beatrice is happily married to a Kenyan runner.

Beatrice Chepkoech
Athlete Beatrice Chepkoech training in a black attire. Photo: @jepsbeatrice (modified by author)
Source: Instagram

In 2018, Beatrice Chepkoech set the reigning world record of of 8:44.32 in the 3000-metre steeplechase race in Monaco, thus becoming her the first woman to break the 8:50 and 8:45 barriers in the event. In the 1500-metre races, she took bronze at the 2015 African Games and silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. What's more, the lady is a two-time 3000-metre steeplechase Diamond League champion and has won two Kenyan national titles: 1500 meters in 2017 and 3000 meters steeplechase in 2018. The athlete is determined to break and set more records in international athletics.

Profile summary

Full name

Beatrice Chepkoech Sitonik

Gender

Female

Birthdate

July 06, 1991

Place of birth

Kabarnet, Baringo

Age

32 years (as of 2023)

Horoscope

Cancer

Occupation

Long-distance runner

Specialization

3000-metre women steeplechase

Athlete code

14383286

Nationality

Kenyan

Ethnicity

African

Height

1.70 m

Weight

54 kg

Father

Elijah Sitonik

Mother

Mary Sitonik

Marital status

Married

Sexuality

Straight

Husband

Peter Mwai Ndichu

World record

8:44.32 (3000-metre women's steeplechase)

Net worth

$5 million (approximation)

Beatrice Chepkoech's biography

Beatrice Chepkoech Sitonik has been an impressive runner since her teenage years. For instance, she clocked 9:15.08 to beat Faith Cherotich (a world Under-20 champion) and Jackline Chepkoech (a Commonwealth Games winner) to second and third places, respectively.

How old is Beatrice Chepkoech?

Beatrice Chepkoech's age is 32 years as of 2023. The athletics world champion was born on July 6, 1991, in Kabarnet, Baringo, Kenya, to Mary(mum) and Elijah Sitonik (dad).

Jackline Chepkoech is not Beatrice Chepkoech's sister. These famous Kenyan athletes have long-term work associations but are not blood-related. Kenya has had numerous siblings like the Chepkoech sisters (Mercy Cherono and little sister Caroline Chepkoech) perform well in international athletics.

Beatrice Chepkoech's biography
Photo: canva.com (modified by author)
Source: Original

Career history

She started her career as a road runner, finishing in the top three of various low-level competitions in Germany and the Netherlands in 2014. She switched to track running in 2015 and won the 1500 meters at the KBC Night of Athletics with a 4:03.28 achievement.

Beatrice was the fifth fastest Kenyan then, just missing the top twenty athletes for the season. At the 2015 African Games, she ended the event with a bronze medal.

After competing in the 2000-metre steeplechase at the ISTAF Berlin to close up her 2015 season, Chepkoech decided to try the entire 3000-metre Olympic race. Again, she transitioned well, and on the 2016 IAAF Diamond League circuit, she finished fourth in the Prefontaine Classic in 9:17.41 and then took second in the Stockholm Diamond League.

Before the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Beatrice Chepkoech held the fifth-best overall ranking. Nevertheless, she came second in the 1500-meter race at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Beatrice Chepkoech's London 2017 victory in the 3000-metre steeplechase competition was outstanding, considering it was her first Diamond League race. She achieved 9:01.69.

The athlete missed a water jump at the London World Championships in August and had to run back in the final, finishing a disappointing fourth in 9:10.45. At the end of August, she clocked 8:59.84 in the Zürich circuit final, thus breaking the nine-minute barrier for the first time.

Beatrice Chepkoech's world record

Her greatest achievement came in July 2018 when she cut eight seconds off the women's steeplechase record over 3000 meters, winning the IAAF Diamond League Monaco race in 8:44.32.

Beatrice Chepkoech's biography
Beatrice Chepkoech celebrates after her new world record in the women's 3000 metre steeplechase at the IAAF Diamond League athletics in Monaco on July 20, 2018. Photo: VALERY HACHE
Source: Getty Images

She also participated in the senior women's race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2019, held in Aarhus, Denmark, although she came in seventh.

At the Morocco Run in February 2021, Chekpkoech shattered another women's 5 km road world record (mixed race) at a pace of 14 min 43 sec. Caroline Kipkirui established the previous world record for that competition in 2018 at 14:48. Siffan Hassen also finished a 5 km race (for women only) in 2019 at 14:44.

In summary, Beatrice Chepkoech's personal best records are:

  • 1500 meters – 4:03.09 (Gold Coast 2018)
  • 3000 meters – 8:22.92 (Doha 2020)
  • 2000 meters steeplechase – 6:02.47 (Berlin 2015)
  • 3000 meters steeplechase – World record 8:44.32 (Monaco 2018)

Beatrice Chepkoech's world-ranking positions

She has been ranked among the world's best athletes for many years. The table below shows her current and highest world-ranking positions in different disciplines:

Current world ranking positions

Discipline

Place

Score

Women's 3000 meters steeplechase

2

1459

Women's Overall Ranking

14

1459

Women's Road Running

57

1179

Women's 5000 meters

92

1140

Highest world ranking positions

Discipline

Place

Weeks

Women's 3000 meters steeplechase

1

136

Women's Overall Ranking

1

29

Women's 1500 meters

17

3

Women's Road Running

57

1

Women's 5000 meters

71

2

Who is Beatrice Chepkoech's coach?

The Kenyan long-distance 3000-metre steeplechase world champion is trained by Bram Som (Netherlands) and managed by Global Sports Communication.

Beatrice Chepkoech's net worth

With a net worth of roughly $5 million, the track & field world champion is among the richest celebrities born in Kenya and one of the wealthiest athletes in the world.

Is Beatrice Chepkoech married?

Beatrice Chepkoech's husband is Kenyan athlete Peter Mwai Ndichu (born June 30, 1990). He competes in 200-meter and 4x200-meter relay. Ndichu's last result was 6th place in the men's 200-meter race at the Kip Keino Classic 2020 competition.

In July 2022, Chepkoech dismissed claims about her having marital problems. A day after a social media post suggested her marriage was shaky, she confirmed to the public that the Facebook account that made the posts was under her name but did not belong to her.

Beatrice Chepkoech's husband
Athlete Beatrice Chepkoech takes a picture with her husband. Photo: @jepsbeatrice (modified by author)
Source: Instagram

The world record holder in the 3000-meter steeplechase chose not to participate in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon and communicated to Athletics Kenya (AK) in advance. Kazakhstan's Norah Jeruto dominated the women's 3000-meter steeplechase in Oregon without Chepkoech, who was expected to be her primary rival.

On June 30, 2023, Beatrice wished her husband a happy birthday via an Instagram post, which she captioned:

Happy birthday my love ❤️, wish you many more beautiful years filled with love, joy, happiness, peace and laughter. This means another wonderful year that we have spent together growing and loving each other more, I'm so excited to continue this journey and see many more years pass by,right by your side coz I'm lucky to have you as my wonderful partner and husband ❤️, enjoy your day to the fullest my love 💓.

Social media presence

Beatrice Chepkoech's Instagram account, @jepsbeatrice, has 7,940 followers as of writing.

Facts about Beatrice Chepkoech

  • The 3000-meter steeplechase world record holder did not compete at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon because of an injury.
  • She suffered from a hamstring injury and a stress fracture around her left ankle joint in 2022.
  • Beatrice earned a second World Record stripe in 2023 after setting a new 2000-meter steeplechase world best at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting.

Most track & field athletes worldwide aspire to achieve the record Beatrice Chepkoech has accomplished and receive as many medals as hers. Despite being a celebrity, the 3000-meter steeplechase world record holder keeps her marriage and personal life under wraps.

Sportsbrief.com has published an article about Hellen Obiri's net worth and personal best record. She is also one of Kenya's leading athletes and one of the most prolific athletes in Africa, who placed in the Top 100.

She has won many medals on the highest stage and is the current 2-time World Champion in the 5000m event. Hellen Obiri's net worth is a clear picture of her success.

Authors
Kenneth Mwenda photo
Kenneth Mwenda
Kenneth Mwenda is a business and sports writer with over five years of experience. At Sportsbrief, he contributes to writing biographies and listicles.
Peris Walubengo photo
Peris Walubengo
Peris Walubengo is a content creator with 4 years of experience in writing informational and entertainment articles, researching, editing, and proofreading.