Kenyans are in a celebratory mood yet again as Faith Kipyegon has made the country proud by winning gold – on 22nd August 2023 – in the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary. The Kenyan clocked in 3:54.87, beating long-time rival, Sifan Hassan, who finished third and Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji took silver. Kipyegon led the race from start to finish, and the win was never in doubt. The two-time Olympic champion in the 1, 500 m race is now one of the most decorated Kenyan athletes ever and this win continues to cement her status as one of the greatest 1, 500m runners of all time in the world.
When telling the story of women’s middle-distance running greats, a chapter certainly will be dedicated to Faith Kipyegon. The Kenyan athletics superstar is the first woman in history to win five 1500m titles at the Track and Field World Championships. Her first breakthrough came when she won the 2011 World Cross Country junior race, this was just the beginning of history-making as she went on to win the junior race again in 2013 in Bydgoszcz. As a teenager, Faith Kipyegon went on to rule the track winning the 2011 World U18 and 2012 World U20 Championships in the 1, 500m. During London’s 2012 Olympic Games Faith Kipyegon made her senior debut in athletics – though she never made it past the qualifying race – the Olympic experience shaped (the then 18-year-old) her successful career.
In 2013, Kipyegon made her World Championships debut in Moscow where she finished fifth. This didn’t break her
spirit as since Beijing in 2015, Faith Kipyegon has been on the podium four times – twice as the world champion (2017 and 2022). In 2016, she won gold at the Rio Olympics but her pedigree was confirmed at the Tokyo Olympics after defending her Olympic title in 3:53.11, breaking the games record that had stood for 33 years making her the second woman in Olympic history to win back-to-back 1500m titles.
To many 2023 so far is a very special year for Faith Kipyegon. On 21st July 2023, in Monaco, France, she clocked in a time of 4:07.64 to win the 5, 000m breaking the previous record of 4:12.33 set by Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan in 2019. Kipyegon broke the 1,500m world record in Florence in a new time of 3:49.11 seconds on June 2nd, 2023, before dismantling the 5, 000m world record (she previously held) on June 9th, 2023 in Paris Diamond League, France with a new time of 4:05.20. This level of success wasn’t the end as Faith Kipyegon aims to continue defending her 1, 500m title and perhaps add more gold to her 5, 000m collection.