Last night, June 2, 2023, Faith Kipyegon fulfilled her dream for years to hold a World record at the 1,500 meters. Faith became the first woman to break the 3:50 barrier, running a 3:49.11 for the 1,500 meters in Florence at the Golden Gala Diamond League Meeting.
Faith Kipyegon has taken a medal every year since 2014, even in 2019, when she gave birth to her baby, Faith Medaled. Faith has two Olympic gold medals, the first in Rio 2016 and the second in Tokyo 2021. Faith took gold in 2017 London and 2022 Eugene at the World Champs. In London 2019, Faith took silver in the 1,500 meters after her baby’s birth. In 2015 Beijing, Faith took the silver in the 1,500 meters.
Faith Kipyegon smashes World Record 1500m in Florence.
World and Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon cemented her status as the greatest female athlete in history over the metric mile by smashing the world’s 1500m record, recording a blistering 3:49.11 at the Diamond League in Florence.
The Kenyan middle-distance star has proved virtually invincible in recent years, and tonight in Italy, she impressed once again, taking down the eight-year-old world record of Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba (3:50.07) – which was set at the Stade Louis II Stadium in Monaco.
An ecstatic Faith said: “I am really thankful; today was a wonderful day in which everything came together. The World Record was in my mind since last year, but I wanted to approach it slowly by slowly to see what was possible this year. I can’t believe it! Now I have achieved what I wanted and what was in my heart and in my mind. This season I was focused to bring what was still missing, the World Record. All the athletes waiting for me at the finish line made me emotional. Thanks, everybody.”
The 29-year-old mum has claimed back-to-back Olympic 1500m titles winning gold in Rio and Tokyo Olympics. She is also a two-time world champion, having regained her crown last year in Eugene, five years after first winning the title in London.
