Summary
– Faith Kipyegon addresses her recent absence
– Muscle injury affected her training
– Missed Diamond League events in Xiamen and Doha
– Prefontaine Classic withdrawal due to injury
– Plans to start season at Kenyan trials
World and Olympics 1,500 metres champion Faith Kipyegon has finally broken silence on her whereabouts
Kipyegon, who is also the world 5,000m champion, disclosed that a muscle injury suffered a few weeks ago had interrupted her training for the season.
There were concerns over the status of Kipyegon after she missed the first two legs of the Diamond League in Xiamen, China on April 20 and Doha, Qatar on May 10.
Prefontaine Classic Diamond League organisers had announced that Kipyegon would compete in 5,000m during the championships on May 25 in Eugene, United States of America.
“I have been building in a great way during the past months for a beautiful season ahead. Some weeks back I got a small muscle problem that was handled well,” said the 30-year-old, who holds the 1,500m and one mile world records.
However, Kipyegon, who announced her withdrawal from Prefontaine Classic on her Facebook page, said that she had resumed training, focusing on starting her season at the Kenyan trials for the Paris Olympic Games on June 14 to 15 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.
“I saw my name announced for Prefontaine Classic. It’s one of the greatest competitions in the circuit and I plan to compete there again in 2025,” said Kipyegon, who retained her 1,500m Diamond League Trophy at Prefontaine Classic last year.
Kipyegon competed last at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia on October 1 last year where she claimed bronze in the Road Mile, a performance that capped her most successful year in professional athletics.
Kipyegon had already hinted at going for a triple in 1,500m,5,000m and 10,000m at the Par-is Olympic Games scheduled for July 26 to August 11.
Kipyegon Profile
Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (born 10 January 1994)[3] 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
2014: Commonwealth champion
In March, she claimed victory in the senior women’s race (8 km) at the African Cross Country Championships held in Kampala, Uganda, beating silver medallist by more than eight seconds.[6] In May, she was a member of the team which won the gold medal in the 4 × 1500 m relay at the first IAAF World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas, along with Mercy Cherono, Irene Jelagat and Hellen Obiri. The Kenyan team, ahead of the United States and Australia, set a new world record of 16:33.58.
That same year in July, Kipyegon took her first senior 1500 m victory, becoming the Glasgow Commonwealth Games champion in Scotland with a time of 4:08.94.
The 20-year-old finished fifth over the distance, however, at the African Championships staged in Marrakesh, Morocco in August, clocking a disappointing 4:13.46.
2015: World championship silver medallist
On 25 August, Kipyegon won a silver in the 1500 m event at the World Championships held in Beijing. After a tactical race she finished second in a time of 4:08.96 behind only then fresh world record holder Genzebe Dibaba who clocked 4:08.09. Sifan Hassan representing the Netherlands was third in 4:09.34.
On 11 September, she secured her first Diamond League victory, winning the mile race in Brussels. It was the notable success as she set a meeting and African record of 4:16.71, beating Hassan who ran 4:18.20 in the final stretch.
2016: First Olympic title in Rio
Kipyegon got her Olympic campaign off to a strong start on 14 May, racing the 1500 m at the Shanghai Diamond League. She improved her own 2013 Kenyan record to 3:56.82 for a win, setting also the meeting record. Two weeks later, she repeated all these feats at the Eugene Diamond Race meet in Oregon, USA, lowering her national record to 3:56.41.[14] She also notched up victory in the mile event during Oslo Diamond League in June.
Circuit wins and titles
Diamond League 1500 metres champion (3): 2017,[27] 2021,[52] 2022[43]
1500 metres wins, other events specified in parentheses
2015 (1): Brussels Memorial Van Damme (One mile, WL AR)
2016 (3): Shanghai Diamond League (WL MR NR), Eugene Prefontaine Classic (WL MR NR), Oslo Bislett Games (One mile, WL)
2017 (3): Shanghai (WL), Eugene, Brussels (SB)
2019 (1): Prefontaine Classic in Palo Alto (SB)
2020 (3): Monaco Herculis (1000 m, DLR AR), Brussels (1000 m), Doha Diamond League (800 m, WL PB)
2021 (4): Doha (800 m), Monaco (WL NR), Eugene (MR), Zürich Weltklasse
2022 (3): Eugene (WL MR), Monaco (WL NR), Zürich
2023 (3): Doha (WL), Rome Golden Gala in Florence (WR), Paris Meeting (5000 m, WR)
World Athletics Cross Country Tour
2022–23: Sirikwa Cross Country Classic
National titles
Kenyan Cross Country Championships
Senior women’s race: 2014, 2015
Awards and honours
Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year – Sportswoman of the Year: 2021, 2022
World Athletics – World Athlete of the Year: 2023
Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year: 2024 Nominee
