Faith Kipyegon, Doha 2019, what a difference two years makes, photo by British Athletics
Faith Kipyegon takes her second gold medal: Kipyegon dominates the Tokyo women’s 1,500m, by Joe Zochert for RunBlogRun
TOKYO, Japan — Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon was in tears after winning the women’s 1500m with an Olympic record 3:53.11, it is her second gold medal in the event after winning the 2016 final.
Kipyegon, 27, bounced back after getting second in the 2019 World Championships in Doha. She has peaked at the right time as she ran her personal best a couple of weeks ago at Monaco with a 3:51.07.
Great Britain’s Laura Muir had the race of her life as she got Silver in the event. It was her first-ever medal in an outdoor global championship after she has had multiple letdowns over the years.
Muir, 28, got Silver in her second Olympics as she got seventh place in the 2016 Rio Games. It was a heartwarming moment to see someone get a spot on a podium after it has been an elusive goal for so many years.
Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan got the Bronze medal after she got Gold in the women’s 5,000m in her second Olympic Games. The defending world champion from Doha held the lead for most of the race until Kipyegon and Muir overtook her in the last 200m.
Hassan, 28, faded towards the end begging the question if she went out too fast as she set the pace. She is also running a hard triple as she has a chance to medal in the 10,000m in this Olympics as well, winning the aforementioned gold in the 5,000m.
The race was at a fast pace as the top eight finishers all broke the four-minute barrier. With about two laps to go the race was split into two groups with the order of the podium being decided in the last 250 meters.
This is one of the fastest women’s 1500m of all time. The last time a single finisher in the event broke the 4 minute barrier in the Olympic final was back in the 2004 Athens Games.
Olympic Finals are historically more conservative as the runners opt to be more strategic in their pacing than worrying about records. This final was one for the books. Don’t take these types of races for granted
