Triple 1500 Metres World Champion Faith Kipyegon. [PHOTO: COURTESY]
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon is undoubtedly, the queen of women’s 1500M. Faith dominated the event final at the 2023 World Athletics Championship on Tuesday 22 August in Budapest, Hungary.
Kipyegon retained the world title leading the race from start to finish in 3:54:87. She finished ahead of Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji in 3.55.69 and Sifan Hassan who took Bronze in 3.56.00.
Speaking after the race, Faith said
“As the world record holder and defending champion, you go to the front and control the race and just run your race. So I ran my race and it looked so easy. I was quickest through the 400m and knew going to the bell I had to push harder and harder. This win has motivated me a lot going (into the 5000m); I know everything is possible now.”
Faith made history as the first woman to seal a hat-trick of titles in the metric mile race. On June 2, the 2016 Olympic champion broke the women’s world 1500 m record of 3.50.07 set in Monaco on July 17 2015. Her achievement cemented her legacy as the Greatest Of All Time in women’s middle-distance running.
Faith is the Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year and Sportswoman of the Year 2021, and 2022. The long-distance runner also won gold medals in the 1500 m race at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. During the World Athletics Championships, in 2017, 2022, and 2023, Faith also won a gold medal in the 1500m races.
Later this week, Faith Kipyegon will bid to be the first woman to sweep the 5,000m and 1,500m during a one-world championship.
