Faith Kipyegon has become the athletics sensation of the year. The Kenyan has already broken three world records this season.
Double 1,500m world champion and Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon, 29, set the 2023 season as her goal to break the 1,500m world record. However, one record was not enough for the Kenyan, the woman smashed two MEs on top of the store.
“I don’t know how to do this. The season just continues and continues like this,” Kipyegon said, according to the news agency Reuters.
Kipyegon ran the 1,500m world record in Florence on June 2 and the 5,000m ME just a week later in Paris. Most recently, the Kenyan crushed a mile (1,609 meters) in the ME Monaco Diamond League by almost five seconds.
“I came for that, I wanted to chase the world record. It was amazing,” said Kipyegon about the Monaco run.
Kipyegon took the race lead with two laps to go in the heat of Monaco.
“It was a blessing to do it with these women. I see they are all happy for me and it is really emotional,” said Kipyegon.
To be known Kipyegon became a 17-year-old after winning the 2011 World Junior Cross-Country Gold, reports news agency AFP. What made the victory special was that Kipyegon had no shoes on his feet.
“Running with bare feet felt safe. I was still young and I came from a small village,” said Kipyegon.
“After returning from the World Championships, I slowly learned to use spikes. I can’t run without them anymore!”
Coach Patrick Sangi describes his protégé as a balanced athlete.
“I was very impressed. Some athletes complain, he never complains. He gets the job done and is a very focused athlete.”
According to AFP, the marathon legend also belongs to the same training group Eliud Kipchoge.
Kipyegon is married to the 800m bronze medalist at the London Olympics By Timothy Kiptum with.
Five Kipyegon, who gave birth to her first daughter a year ago, wants to show all female athletes that having a child can be a springboard for a new rise in a sports career.
“I know what women go through after giving birth. They think life ends there. I want to prove them wrong,” Kipyegon told AFP at a training camp in Kenya.
“It’s the future, it’s the new beginning of a career.”
Kipyengon says that returning to the top of the world after having a child was not easy. However, the faith and support of loved ones helped, among other things, in shedding 19 pregnancy kilos.
“It is not an easy journey, it requires a lot of strength of mind. You have to be strong and brave in everything you do,” said Kipyegon.
“I took my time and enjoyed the source of my joy, Alyn– about my daughter.”
Kipyegon returned to the top of the world in a few years. Since August 2020, the Kenyan has won 26 of the 29 races he has run.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Kipyegon successfully defended the Rio Olympics 1,500m title. According to Reuters, Kipyegon, who also won the 1,500 meters at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, says his goal is to defend the world championship next month.
At the World Championships in Budapest, Kipyegon is chasing the 5,000 meter World Championship gold in addition to the 1,500 meter championship.
Correction 22.7. at 7:23 p.m.: The headline previously incorrectly talked about births in the plural. However, Kipyegon only has one child.
#Athletics #Kenyan #Woman #won #World #Youth #Championship #barefoot #breaks #records #giving #birth