Summary
– Faith Kipyegon returns to Prefontaine Classic.
– Competing in 5000m, aiming for historic performance.
– Made headlines with world record-breaking performances in 2023.
– Competitors include Laura Muir, Grant Holloway, Hansle Parchment.
– Wanda Diamond League pinnacle of global track and field.
Kenyan sensation Faith Kipyegon is set to make a triumphant return to the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene this year.
Kipyegon joins an illustrious lineup that includes Grant Holloway, Hansle Parchment, Diribe Welteji, and Laura Muir.
Faith Kipyegon set for 5000m
Scheduled for May 25, Kipyegon will tackle the 5000m event, nearly a year after her stunning world record-breaking performance over the distance at the Wanda Diamond League in Paris last season.
In 2023, Kipyegon made headlines globally by smashing three world records within a month during the Wanda Diamond League events. Following her 1500m victory in Florence, she set records in the 5000m in Paris and the mile in Monaco.
Eugene witnessed both the triumph and setback for Kipyegon, as she clinched the 1500m Diamond Trophy with a record-breaking time of 3:50.72 but also lost her 5000m world record to Ethiopian competitor Gudaf Tsegay.
Kipyegon, undoubtedly, aims for another historic performance as she returns to Hayward Field later this month for the 5000m event.
Faith Kipyegon’s competitors
Joining her in Oregon are a host of athletics’ biggest names, including world champions, Olympic champions, and reigning Diamond League champions.
In the women’s 1500m, Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, the World Athletics Championships silver medallist, will face off against British star Laura Muir, a two-time Diamond League champion.
The men’s 110m hurdles will feature a showdown between USA’s world champion Grant Holloway and Jamaica’s Olympic champion Hansle Parchment. This encounter comes nine months after Parchment stole the Diamond League title from Holloway in Eugene last year. American Daniel Roberts also enters the mix with strong performances earlier in the season.
The Wanda Diamond League stands as the pinnacle of one-day athletics meetings, featuring 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field. Athletes strive for points across 14 series meetings to qualify for the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 13th-14th.
Faith Kipyegon Profile
Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (born 10 January 1994) is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. Kipyegon is the current world record holder for the 1,500 metres and mile, both set in 2023, and the former world record holder for the 5,000 metres. Kipyegon won a gold medal each at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 1,500 m.
She also won a gold medal in the 1,500 m at the 2017, 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships and in the 5,000 m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
As a junior, Kipyegon won gold medals at the 2011 and 2013 World Cross Country Championships and in the 1500 m at the 2011 World Youth Championships and the 2012 World Junior Championships.
Kipyegon was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2017
Personal bests
| Event | Time (m:s) | Venue | Date | Notes |
| 800 metres | 1:57.68 | Doha, Qatar | 25 September 2020 | |
| 1000 metres | 2:29.15 | Fontvieille, Monaco | 14 August 2020 | AR, 2nd of all time |
| 1500 metres | 3:49.11 | Florence, Italy | 2 June 2023 | WR |
| One mile | 4:07.64 | Fontvieille, Monaco | 21 July 2023 | WR |
| 3000 metres | 8:23.55 | Doha, Qatar | 9 May 2014 | |
| 5000 metres | 14:05.20 | Paris, France | 9 June 2023 | WR until 17 September 2023 |
| 4 × 1500 m relay | 16:33.58 | Nassau, Bahamas | 24 May 2014 | AR |
