Beatrice Chebet is on the brink of making history tonight as she competes in the women’s 10,000 metres final at the Paris Olympics. Having already claimed gold in the 5,000 metres earlier this week, the 24-year-old Kenyan athlete is aiming to become the first Kenyan to win two gold medals in a single edition of the Olympic Games.

Chebet enters the race with a strong reputation, having set a new world record of 28:54.14 in the 10,000 metres at the 2024 Eugene Prefontaine Classic, making her the first woman to break the 29-minute barrier. Known as “the smiling assassin,” Chebet hopes to replicate that performance tonight at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The race is set to begin at 9:57 pm EAT.

To claim her place in history, Chebet will have to fend off strong challenges from her compatriots Lilian Rengeruk and Margaret Kipkemboi, the Ethiopian duo of reigning world champion Gudaf Tsegay and Tsigie Gebreselama, and the Dutch Sifan Hassan, who is the event’s reigning Olympic champion.

All six athletes have run sub-30:00 in the 10,000 metres, and there’s a strong possibility that a new Olympic record could be set tonight. The current record of 29:17.45 was set by Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana at the Rio Games eight years ago.

While the Kenyan trio and the Ethiopian Gebreselama only achieved that feat in the race in Eugene, Oregon, on May 25 when Chebet set a new world record, Hassan (four times) and Tsegay (thrice) have run under 30 minutes more than once in their career.

For Hassan, 31, and Tsegay, 27, tonight’s race will be particularly demanding, as it is one of the three events they have entered at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Apart from this race, Hassan has already competed in the 5,000 metres, where she took bronze, and Tsegay finished a disappointing ninth in the same event.

After tonight’s race, Hassan is due to compete in the women’s marathon on Sunday morning, while Tsegay will be on the starting line for the women’s 1,500 metres final on Saturday night.

Going into tonight’s race, Hassan is the fresher of the two, having last competed in the women’s 5,000 metres final on Monday night. Tsegay, on the other hand, has had a busier schedule, running in four races across her participation in the 1,500 metres (heats and semifinal) and the 5,000 metres (heats and final). Tonight’s 10,000 metres will be her fifth race in seven days.

Today’s athletics schedule also includes the men’s 800 metres semifinals, where Kenyan duo Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Wycliffe Kinyamal will compete for spots in the final, which takes place on Saturday at 8:15 pm EAT.

The semifinals start at 12:30 pm EAT, with Kinyamal competing in the second semifinal at 12:40 pm EAT, followed by Wanyonyi in the third semifinal at 12:50 pm EAT. To qualify for the final, they must finish in the top two or post one of the two fastest times outside the top two.