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Faith Kipyegon's meteoric rise to the top of the world
Faith Kipyegon of Kenya poses next to the score board after breaking the World Record and winning in the Women's One Mile event during the Wanf Diamond League "Herculis" athletics meeting at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco, on July 21, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Another phenomenal Kenyan athlete, Daniel Komen, broke three world records within one year between September 1996 and August 1997.
- On Friday night, Kipyegon broke the one-mile record, setting a new mark of four minutes and 07.64 seconds at the Monaco Diamond League. Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan held the previous record of 4:12:33.
Double Olympic and world 1,500 metres champion Faith Chepngétich Kipyegon’s hat-trick of world records within 50 days is reminiscent of the feat achieved by the legendary Henry Rono who shattered four world records in 81 days in 1978.
Another phenomenal Kenyan athlete, Daniel Komen, broke three world records within one year between September 1996 and August 1997.
Faith Kipyegon of Kenya celebrates after breaking the World Record and winning in the Women's One Mile event during the Wanda Diamond League "Herculis" athletics meeting at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco, on July 21, 2023.
On Friday night, Kipyegon broke the one-mile record, setting a new mark of four minutes and 07.64 seconds at the Monaco Diamond League. Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan held the previous record of 4:12:33.
Kipyegon was fresh from breaking the 1,500m and 5,000m world records.
She broke the 1,500m world record at the Florence Diamond League in a new time of 3:49.11 on June 2 before dismantling the 5,000m world record on June 9 at the Paris Diamond League, France with a new time of 14:05.20.
Going by Kipyegon’s fine form, attempting new world records in 3,000m (8:24.41) and 10,000m (29:01.03) in future would not be a far-fetched idea.
Faith Kipyegon of Kenya celebrates after breaking the World Record and winning in the Women's One Mile event during the Wanda Diamond League "Herculis" athletics meeting at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco, on July 21, 2023.
The trailblazing Rono, 71, broke the world record in 5,000m at Berkeley Meeting in California, USA on April 8, 1978 setting a new time of 13:08.4, erasing the 13:12.9 mark set by Dick Quax from New Zealand in Stockholm on July 5, 1977.
Rono broke Swede Anders Gärderud’s record of 8:08.0 set in Montreal on July 28, 1976, winning in Seattle, USA in 8:05.4 on May 13. Gärderud had broken the world record three times consecutively.
Then Rono erased compatriot Samson Kimobwa’s world record of 27:30.5 set in Helsinki on June 30 the previous year with a new time of 27:22.47 on June 11 at Wien, Austria before breaking the 3,000m world record in 7:32.1 at Oslo Bislett Games on June 27.
Komen ran a spectacular world record time of 7:20.67 in the 3,000m, breaking Noureddine Morceli’s former record by 4.44 seconds in Rieti, Italy on September 1, 1996.
Then Komen became the first man to run two miles in under eight minutes, clocking a world record 7:58.61 on July 19, 1997 in Hechtel, Belgium.
Komen broke the 5,000m world record, taking two seconds off Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie’s record of 12:39.74 in Brussels on August 22, 1997.
Komen would add the 3,000m indoor world record to his collection when he broke Gebrselassie’s record of 7:26.15 that he had set 12 days earlier in a new time of 7:24.90 in Budapest on February 6, 1998.
The hat-trick of world records has positioned Kipyegon strongly for a possible double at the World Athletics Championships scheduled for August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.
Faith Kipyegon of Kenya reacts after breaking the World Record and winning in the Women's One Mile event during the IAAF Diamond League "Herculis" athletics meeting at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco, on July 21, 2023.
Kipyegon said that she is now fully prepared to defend her world 1,500m and perhaps add the 5,000m title to her collection in Budapest.
She will be eying a hat-trick in 1,500m after her previous wins in 2017 London and 2022 Oregon, United States of America.
The reigning Olympic 1,500m Olympic champion said she had planned to break the one mile record unlike the world record in 5,000m in Paris.
“The time was really good because the race was well planned. It just went smoothly, and to accomplish the world record — that is amazing,” she said. “I came here for that, I wanted to chase the world record and thank God, it was amazing.”
Her her goal at the start of the season was to break the 1,500m world record but she is glad she also broke the one mile and the 5, 000m world records too.
The star described it as a blessing to have done it with fellow ladies.
“I can see that they are all happy for me and it is so emotional. It is a blessing, it just does not happen every time you run,” said Kipyegon, who was paced by American Kristie Schoffield and Winnie Nanyondo of Uganda.
What next for Kipyegon?
“I do not know, it is in God’s hands. I do not know how I am doing this because it just keeps going in a really good way,” she said.
