by Stuart WeirThat Faith Kipyegon followed closely when Sifan Hassan took off in the women’s 1,500m should have been expected. 62.8 at 400m, 2:07.00 at 800 and 2:54 at 1,100m. Then, Faith Kipyegon took off, requiring only 59 seconds to take the gold in Tokyo 2021, with a fine 3:53.11!
Faith Kipyegon is one of Stuart’s favorites, and his admiration of her running and athelticism comes out in this article!
The women’s 1,500m, London 2017, photo by World Athletics
Faith Kipyegon
It is fair to say that Faith Kipyegon has been somewhat dominant in the 1500 meters in the past six years. This is her record with an assessment in her own words.
Moscow 2013 World Championship fifth 4:05.08
“In Moscow 2013 I was still a junior so I was running ‘absent-minded.’ When you are a junior, you just go to the race and run with freedom – I was still running free at that time”.
2015 World Championship second 4:08.96
“My performance in Moscow motivated me. I realized that I could compete in the senior category. When I went to Beijing it was my second World Championship and I said to myself, ‘I have to do it. I have to get a medal – I don’t mind if it is gold, silver or bronze’. Believing that I could do it gave me motivation and I just worked hard. And I got the silver medal”.
2016 Olympic Winner 4:08.92
“I did not expect anything from Rio. I knew Genzebe was there, I knew Sifan was there and everyone wanted the gold medal in Rio. My coach said, ‘if you can come second in the World Championship’ in Beijing you can do it also in Rio – and you can win it. So I was well prepared mentally and in training by my coach. So went to the race and won it”.
2017 World Championship winner 4:02.59
” London had a very strong field. I was not expecting gold. I knew it would be fast, it is such a quality field. The best was going to win there. It was always going to be quick and competitive. I was well prepared for that race in London. I knew it would be a strong field so I did my training very well in Kenya. I was so happy to win. When you are Olympic champion everyone thinks you will be the favourite but I was well prepared for that race in London”.
2017 Diamond League Final Winner 3:57.04
“It was a good race – it was windy – but I thank God I ran well, a season’s best. I am so happy. I felt strong because I have been working so hard. I finished my season well. Because I won in London, I had it in mind that I had to do it again today. I always expect the last lap to be very quick and I am going to fight it until the end. I was determined to do my best as this is the last race of the season”.
2018
“My daughter [Alyn] was born in June 2018. I took eight months off when I was feeding the baby and then started to do exercise, building up slowly. Coming back was hard – really hard. Reducing weight is not easy. I just had to make progress slowly. My management was telling me not to rush but to take it easy and that I would be back for Doha. And I did it”.
2019 World Championship second 3:54.22
Faith Kipyegon, Doha 2019, photo by World Athletics
Doha was really good. Coming back from maternity leave, running a PB of 3:54 was not easy. I was coming back from an injury so I didn’t win but I thank God for a silver medal.
Faith Kipyegon, Doha 2019, photo by World Athletics
2021 Olympic Gold 3:53.11
“First of all, I want to thank God for today’s victory. I knew it could be a very fast race today, and I am very grateful I did it again. I knew Sifan is a very strong athlete, and I knew she would go fast because she wanted the gold. I knew she was going to lead very quickly. I really wanted to follow her and see what would happen at the finish line.
“Once I crossed the finish line, it was a very emotional moment for me. I thought about my daughter who I left behind at home. She wanted me to bring home a gold medal, and I am so happy and excited I did that. Winning two Olympics is something I didn’t really expect”.
