Join Now

Want news that’s as fresh as your morning coffee? Join our community and stay in the know!

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon wins 1500-metre final for record third Olympic gold | Paris Olympics 2024 News

Date:

Share:

Kipyegon becomes the first athlete ever to win three back-to-back 1500m gold medals and sets new Olympic record time.

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon made history after becoming the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic 1,500-metre gold medals with a superb display of middle-distance running.

The 30-year-old 2016 and 2020 champion produced a tactical masterpiece at the Stade de France on Saturday to take gold in a new Olympic record of 3min 51.29sec.

Australia’s Jessica Hull took silver in 3:52.56 while the UK’s Georgia Bell claimed bronze in 3:52.61.

Bronze medallist Britain's Georgia Bell, gold medallist Kenya's Faith Kipyegon and silver medallist Australia's Jessica Hull celebrate after competing in the women's 1500m final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)
Bronze medallist Georgia Bell, gold medallist Faith Kipyegon and silver medallist Jessica Hull celebrate after competing in the women’s 1500m final [Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP]

It was another remarkable performance by Kipyegon, the reigning world champion who can now arguably lay claim to being the greatest women’s middle-distance runner in history.

Kipyegon had bided her time early in the race, allowing Gudaf Tsegay to set the pace before moving up onto the Ethiopian’s shoulder just after the first lap.

Tsegay continued to lead at the bell but faded quickly and dropped back as Kipyegon accelerated into first place.

With 200 metres to go, Kipyegon kicked for home and though Hull and Bell pursued they never looked liked finding the speed necessary to catch the Kenyan as she scampered across the line to clinch her unprecedented Olympic 1,500-metre treble.

The Kenyan also holds three gold medals for the same distance at the World Athletics championships, the latest coming at Budapest in 2023.

‘I’ve come very far’

In her home country, Kipyegon is known as the “Queen of 1,500 metres”.

In an interview earlier last year, Kipyegon told Al Jazeera that she has loved running since the age of five and she wants to inspire more young girls to take up the sport.

The diminutive all-time 1,500-metre great grew up in western Kenya’s Rift Valley, which is renowned as a breeding ground for runners.

The world record holder’s journey began in the ever-changing muddy, dusty and hilly terrain of Ndababit village, 233km (144 miles) west of Kenya’s capital Nairobi.

“I used to run barefoot from my village to the primary school because in Kenya, schools are so far that you always end up running in order to reach them in time,” Kipyegon told Al Jazeera before the Diamond League event in Doha.

“I have loved [running] since I was a little girl, but I never thought I would become an Olympic champion one day,” she said with a chuckle.

Among the long list of milestones in Kipyegon’s career, winning a second Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 after returning from a maternity break stands out as a testament to her tenacity and single-mindedness.

Kipyegon credits motherhood and her daughter Alyn with helping her stage a competitive comeback.

“It was not easy as I could barely walk 20 minutes the first time I stepped back on the track,” she said in a social media video in 2022, as she reflected on the difficulties of returning to the track after having given birth.

“But the strength Alyn gives me has helped me overcome all challenges.”

Gold medallist Kenya's Faith Kipyegon poses by the score board after setting a new Olympic record in the women's 1500m final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Faith Kipyegon poses by the score board after setting a new Olympic record in the women’s 1500m final [Kirill Kudryavstev/AFP]

Unmatched Baby Essentials

baby

━ more like this

The Influence of the US Far Right on Ireland Is Growing

“The people who are running us act like they are Jewish and act like they are Christian. They are not Christian, nor are not...

Why is Russia bombing ships carrying Ukrainian grain? | Russia-Ukraine war News

Ukraine has accused Russia of unleashing a series of missile strikes on commercial vessels carrying Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea, threatening to disrupt...

Mystery Nintendo Device Turns Out To Be $100 Alarm Clock

The Switch 2 is here! Just kidding. Nintendo’s newest gadget is actually the Alarmo, and its a clock to help you get out of...

Quinta Brunson on Abbott Elementary Return, ‘Confusing’ Emmys Comedies

Abbott Elementary’s Oct. 9 season four return with a full 22-episode order, following an abbreviated season three, has spelled good news for both fans...

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here