Faith: This is how a mum wins an Olympic gold 

After winning her first gold medal in 2017 during the London World Championships, Faith Chepng’etich Kipyegon had a special win coming — motherhood. 

She and her husband Timothy Kitum – a Kenya Defence Forces soldier – were blessed with a daughter, Lynne Chepkor, now aged three. The maternity leave saw Chepng’etich miss the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Motherhood ushers in a different life for any athlete. She has to eat well enough to healthily breastfeed the baby, which leads to weight gain, and her body undergoes many transformations. Some of those changes have been said to make some women more athletic, but it is not always guaranteed.

In Chepng’etich’s case, going back to training meant shedding off her post-partum weight, which she says was not easy. The support she received from her coaches and her husband, she says, gave her the boost she needed.

“Being a mother was a challenge. But I got overwhelming support when I wanted to get back to the track, and that kept me going. And I felt good competing once again when I lined up for the race and I finally won during the Prefontaine Classic, which I really enjoyed. It motivated me to continue training hard,” she told Lifestyle on Wednesday.

She says that breaking for maternity leave opened a new chapter in her career. She didn’t know what would happen after the long break. She is, however, happy that her body responded well. 

We interviewed the 27-year-old a week after she outpaced her fiercest rival, Sifan Hassan, in a much-awaited 1,500m contest in Japan. She surged with 250 metres to go and never looked back. She won the race in three minutes, 53 seconds and 11 microseconds, setting a new Olympic record.

She jetted back from Tokyo, spent two days at her home in Kipkorgot on the outskirts of Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County before packing her bags and going straight to her training base at Global Sports Communication training camp in Kaptagat, Elgeyo-Marakwet County.

The camp is also home to the men’s world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge. She spoke with us after training.

Asked why she was at the camp immediately after the Olympic games instead of staying at home with her family, Chepng’etich revealed that she will be competing at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League in the American state of Oregon next Saturday (August 21) and she had little time to rest.

Next weekend’s event is the longest-running outdoor invitational track-and-field meet in America and is part of the elite Wanda Diamond League of meets held worldwide annually.

The two (Chepng’etich and Hassan) would have clashed there again, but Hassan has opted to participate in the 5,000m race.

“I will be competing next weekend (August 21) in my next assignment which is Prefontaine Diamond League.  There is no time to rest because I will lose a lot in terms of training and that will cost me. That’s why I headed straight to the camp, which is my second home,” said Chepng’etich.

In one such race in Monaco in July, Chepng’etich was exactly one second off the world record, clocking 3:51.07 to become the fourth fastest athlete of all time in the four-and-a-half-lap race (1,500m) after beating Hassan who came second.

Regarding her Tokyo triumph, the soft-spoken athlete said she had prepared well ahead of the race, though she was under a lot of pressure because she wanted to retain her title and at the same time Hassan was eyeing her second gold medal at the Olympics after winning in 5,000m.

Chepng’etich won in an emphatic fashion, dedicating the victory to her three-year-old daughter.

How was it facing off with Hassan, who had beaten her during the Florence Diamond League meet in Italy?

“Hassan is a good athlete and I can confess that I love competing with her on various occasions. But this time, I was under a lot of pressure because the world, my fans and my country were waiting for a gold medal from me. I’m happy because I managed to win the race and my early reaction saved the day,” said Chepng’etich.

Upon finishing the race, Hassan – who is in the same management but from a different nationality – congratulated her for the win before going back into the athlete’s village to scheme on how she would go for the third medal in 10,000m.

While in Tokyo, Chepng’etich had a conversation with Allyson Felix, the 400m bronze medallist from the US, and they exchanged notes on the motherhood journey before taking a photo together.

“I met Allison in one of the doping control rooms and our conversation was based on our daughters. We didn’t discuss much during that period. She is a great athlete and having participated in various Olympic games, I really respect her for that,” she adds.

Also read: Kipyegon, Miller-Uibo, Felix relegate men to Olympic supporting cast

She was also looking forward to meeting Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce but her schedule couldn’t match hers. She hopes that one day they will meet and chat on various issues regarding motherhood.

Her dedication to camp life reflects her will to shine. She is usually there from Monday to Saturday. She then heads home to tend to her family for two days before heading back. She says this routine has borne fruit.

On a typical day when she is not on the track doing her speed sessions, she will be in recovery mode after a long run. Or she will be engaging in physical exercises, sleeping, in the gym or eating.

This is the routine for various athletes and she has no option but to train hard to win with ease. In training, she uses Nike apparel.

“Wearing the Nike attire and the spikes for training was one of the sweetest moments for me and I want to thank the company for the support it has given me in my career in terms of training facilities,” says the athlete.

Chepng’etich was born in Bomet County. She is the seventh-born in a family of eight. Her parents later shifted to Keringet in Nakuru County where she joined Chebara Primary School before transferring to Olenguruone Primary School, where she started her career in athletics.

She completed her primary education at Keringet Township.

She joined Winners Girls High School where she used to participate in various global events. She sat Form Four exams in 2015 and went on with her training in Keringet.

She started her training as a junior and participated in various global events. After the 2017 World Championships, she shifted to Kaptagat and that is how she managed to join the Global Sports Communication training camp, which is headed by Patrick Sang, in 2019.

“Since I joined the Kaptagat camp, my performance has improved tremendously. I’m happy with the sport because it has taken me places. I have a bright future and I’m doing this for my family who are looking up to me,” she said.

One of her most memorable races was the 2017 World Championships competition where her brother-in-law Geoffrey Kirui was in the same team representing Kenya. He was in the marathon team and won gold.

“He competed ahead of me and after winning gold, he asked me to compete well so that we can take gold medals back home. And indeed I managed to bag gold,” said Chepng’etich.

Concerning Covid-19, she said the pandemic taught her a lot of lessons, noting that she wasted a whole year because sporting events were cancelled across the globe.

“I could have participated in a few races when Covid-19 struck but many athletes were home due to the cancellation of sporting events. It gave me enough time to prepare for the postponed games.  But as athletes we need to invest wisely on the little we get for the future because athletics will come to an end,” she said.

She has been in the career for more than 10 years and reveals that discipline is paramount in her career and is what has kept her going. And she is not done yet.

Chepng’etich boasts various medals including gold medals in 2011 (Punta Umbria) and 2013 (Bydgoszcz) in the World Cross Country Championships (junior category).

In 2011, she also bagged a gold medal in the 1,500m race during the World Youth Championships before winning another gold in the World Junior Championships in Barcelona.

First World Championships

She went ahead to win the Commonwealth Games title in 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland, and featured in her first World Championships where she managed to bag a silver medal in Beijing, China, in 2015.

Her performance was improving and she lined up for the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro and here she didn’t disappoint. She won her first gold in the games.

She went ahead to bag her first gold in the World Championships in 2017 in London before breaking for her maternity leave.

Upon her return, she participated in the Doha World Championships in 2019 and came in second behind Sifan Hassan.

She was inspired by former 5,000m Olympic champion Vivian Cheruiyot, whom she used to see competing in various competitions. She wanted to be like her.

“I used to see her competing at the global stage and she was so young and this prompted me to try athletics. And I came to enjoy the sport and I’m not looking back,” she says.

Her sister Beatrice Chepkemoi specialises in 5,000m and 10,000m races. Josephine Chepkurui, another sibling, specialises in marathon races. They were all inspired by their younger sister.

Chepkemoi recalled seeing her sister qualify for the World Cross Country Championships in Jordan in 2009 but was dropped due to her young age. She foresaw a bright future in the sport.

In 2013, Chepkemoi and Chepng’etich were in the Kenyan team for the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where she emerged 11th while her younger sister emerged victorious.

An Olympic record set, Chepng’etich is not resting easy. According to her, preparations for the next World Athletic Championships – which are to be held in Oregon, US, in July next year – start immediately because she wants to win back the gold medal that was wrested from her during the Doha World Championships in 2019.

“I have to start my preparations early enough and I’m happy that the Diamond League races have shaped me so much ahead of a major event. I will continue using the races to sharpen my career,” she says.

A number of upcoming athletes have been mentored and inspired by Chepng’etich. She wishes them all the best during the upcoming World Under-20 Championships which kick off in Kasarani on Tuesday.

“I want to wish the juniors the very best during the global event. They should make sure they win medals because they are competing at home. They have to know that the world is training hard and winning. They should follow their seniors in doing well,” she said.

Chepng’etich also congratulated other athlete mothers who have been carrying Kenya’s flag high. They include Peres Jepchirchir, who won gold in the women’s marathon at the Olympic games, as well as Brigid Kosgei (silver in marathon) and Hellen Obiri (silver in 5,000m).

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