Kenyan athlete Faith Kipyegon, who has dominated the 1500 meters race for the past couple of years with two Olympic gold medals and two world titles, has achieved a remarkable feat: breaking the world record. At the Diamond League meet in Florence, Italy, on June 2, the 29-year-old Kipyegon completed the race in an impressive time of 3:49.11. This surpassed the previous record set by Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia in 2015, 3:50:07, by almost a second.
To assist her in this historic victory, Kipyegon was paced by two American 800-meter specialists. Brooke Feldmeier led for the first 400 meters in 62.37 seconds, while Sage Hurta-Klecker took over during the second lap, running 61.63 seconds, resulting in an 800-meter split time of 2:04.00. Following their pacing duties, both Americans watched the rest of the race from the sidelines.
Throughout the race, Kipyegon was pursued by Laura Muir of Great Britain, the silver medalist in the 2021 Olympics, and Jessica Hull of Australia. However, by the time Kipyegon reached the 1200-meter mark in 3:05.20 (after completing a lap in 61.28 seconds), she had built a lead of nearly 2 and a half seconds over Muir.
Also read: Sha’Carri Richardson dominates the 200m at the Kip Keino Classic 2023 held in Nairobi
In the final stretch, Kipyegon ran the last 400 meters in an impressive 58.81 seconds. As she powered through the final turn, the pacing lights on the inside rail, set at world record pace, fell behind her. Despite a slight grimace in the last 100 meters, Kipyegon barely slowed down after crossing the finish line. Overwhelmed by her achievement, she pointed at the clock, realizing what she had accomplished, and then joyfully tumbled to the track in celebration.
Muir secured second place with a time of 3:57.09, nearly 8 seconds behind Kipyegon, while Hull took third place in 3:57.29, setting an Australian record.
As Kipyegon took a victory lap, her fellow competitors awaited her on the track to join in the celebration. Ciara Mageean of Ireland, who finished fourth with a time of 4:00.95, enthusiastically embraced Kipyegon. “I am so happy for Faith,” Muir expressed after the race.