Faith Kipyegon’s world record has been ratified by World Athletics.
During a press release on the 25th of October 2023, the World Athletics ratified Faith Kipyegon’s world mile record. 2023 has been a fantastic year for Faith Kipyegon as she broke and set three world records on the track. She made history becoming the first athlete to break two of her world recordings in 1500m within a week. She clocked 3:49.11 for 1500m in Florence, then 14:05.20 for 5000m in Paris.
In Monaco during the Wanda Diamond League, the goal for Faith Kipyegon was clear – break yet another record. On a hot and humid evening, Faith Kipyegon did not allow anything to distract her from her task. She locked in immediately to the world record pace being marked by flashing lights inside the track and relaxed into an easy rhythm for three laps, passing through 800m in 2:04.6 and 1000m in 2:35.6.
At the bell she charged out like a prize fighter, punching the world record into the dust with every stride. The pacing lights were a distant second as she skimmed around the track to stop the clock in 4:07.64, more than four seconds faster than the standard her long-term rival Sifan Hassan set on the same track on 12 July 2019 (4:12.33). She won by almost seven seconds – more than half the length of the straight.
Another world record that was ratified during the press release was Roshawn Clarke’s world U20 400m hurdles record. The Jamaican track and field athlete became the Jamaican national champion in 400m hurdles in July 2023,Clarke enjoyed a phenomenal breakthrough season culminating with a world U20 record and a fourth-place finish at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.
At the start of the year, his personal best stood at 49.35, which he set after taking bronze at the 2022 World U20 Championships. He broke his personal best mid-May, then he went on to made two further revisions at the senior Jamaican Championships in July, clocking 48.91 in the heats and 47.85 in the final on 7 July, 2023. The 47.85 time equaled the world U20 record set by USA’s Sean Burrell on 11 June 2021.
His quest for a better personal best progressed continued at the World Championships. After advancing through his heat, he went on to finish second in his semifinal in a world U20 record of 47.34 – a time that would have been good enough for gold at many past editions of the championships. In the final one day later, Clarke finished fourth in 48.07 and beat some of the best 400m hurdlers in the world.