Faith Kipyegon

Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (born 10 January 1994) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner and the current Olympic champion in the 1500 m women's having won the Rio Olympics on 16 August 2016.[1] She won the gold medal at the 2017 World Championships and the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships.

Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon
Personal information
Full nameFaith Chepngetich Kipyegon
NationalityKenyan
Born (1994-01-10) 10 January 1994
Bomet, Kenya
Height1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)
Weight42 kg (93 lb)
Sport
CountryKenya
SportAthletics
Event(s)1500 metres
Achievements and titles
World finals2013
1500 m, 5th
2015
1500 m,  Silver
2017
1500 m,  Gold
2019
1500 m,  Silver
Olympic finals2012
1500 m, 21st (h)
2016
1500 m,  Gold
Personal best(s)

She is also the Commonwealth champion having won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland with a time of 4 minutes 08.94 seconds. She won the gold medal at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Athletics, and a gold medal the next year at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics. [2] At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's 1500 metres but got 9th in the 3rd heat and failed to qualify for the finals. She won the women's junior race in the World Cross Country Championships in 2013. She competed in the 2013 World Championships in Athletics and Came in 5th place in the final with a time of 4:05.08.

Kipyegon was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2017.[3]

Career

2010

At age 16, Faith Kipyegon ran in the 2010 World Cross Country Championships women's junior race. She came in 5th place individually and won the gold medal with her team.

2011

She participated in the 2011 World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria and won the gold medal in the junior race both with her team and individually. A few months afterward, she competed at the World Youth Championships in the women's 1500 m winning the gold medal ahead of three Ethiopian runners with a time of 4:09.48.[4]

2012

In the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, she won the gold medal way ahead of the field with a time of 4:04.96; the Serbian Amela Terzić and Ethiopian Teferi Senbere took 2nd and 3rd. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's 1500 m, in London, but failed to qualify for the finals.[5]

2013

At the beginning of the 2013 season, Kipyegon won the junior race individual at the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz Poland. On 10 May, at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix in Doha, she established a new Kenyan Record in the women's 1500 m in a time of 3:56.98, facing the Swedish runner Abeba Aregawi. In August 2013, at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Faith Kipyegon came in fifth in the final of the women's 1500 m in a time of 4:05.08.

2014

In 2014, she won the gold medal in the 4 × 1500 m Relay at the first IAAF World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas, along with Mercy Cherono, Irene Jelagat and Hellen Obiri. The Kenya team, ahead of the United States and Australia, improved the World Record time to 16:33.58. She also won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

2015

On 25 August 2015, Kipyegon won silver at World Championships in Beijing, finishing second to world record holder Genzebe Dibaba in the 1500 m.

On 11 September 2015, at Diamond League finale in Brussels, Kipyegon won the mile in 4:16.71, beating Sifan Hassan, who finished in 4:18.20.,[6] in the final stretch.

2016

In August 2016, Kipyegon competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where she won the 1500 meters in 4:08.92 with a 56.8-second final lap.[7]

2017

In 2017, she won two Diamond League races in Shanghai and Eugene. Her best success of this year was the first place at the 2017 World Championships, becoming only the third woman in history to win both the Olympic and World Championships 1500m race.

International competitions
Representing  Kenya
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2010 World Cross Country Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 4th Junior race 19:02
1st Junior team 10 pts
2011 World Cross Country Championships Punta Umbria, Spain 1st Junior race 18:53
2nd Junior team 19 pts
World Youth Championships Lille, France 1st 1500 m 4:09.48
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 1st 1500 m 4:04.96
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 21st (h) 1500 m 4:08.78
2013 World Cross Country Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 1st Junior Race 17:51
1st Junior Team 14 pts
World Championships Moscow, Russia 5th 1500 m 4:05.08
2014 World Relays Nassau, Bahamas 1st 4 × 1500 m 16:33.58 WR
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 1st 1500 m 4:08.94
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 2nd 1500 m 4:08.96
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1st 1500 m 4:08.92
2017 World Cross Country Championship Kampala, Uganda 6th Senior Race 32:49
1st Senior Team 10 pts
World Championships London, United Kingdom 1st 1500 m 4:02.59
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 2nd 1500 m 3:54.22 NR

Personal bests
Year Event Location Time date
2020 800 m Doha, Qatar 1:57.68 25 September 2020
2020 1000 m Herculis, Monaco 2:29.15 NR 14 August 2020
2019 1500 m Doha, Qatar 3:54.22 NR 5 October 2019
2014 3000 m Doha, Qatar 8:23.55 9 May 2014
2014 4 × 1500 m Nassau, Bahamas 16:33.58 WR 24 May 2014

See also

References
  1. Koech, B. M. "Faith Chepngetich: Gold Medalist | Athletes of Kenya". Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  2. "Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon". London 2012. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  3. "100 Most Influential Africans: Ten Kenyans Including CJ David Maraga Listed". Answers Africa. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  4. "2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships", Wikipedia, 27 December 2019, retrieved 29 May 2020
  5. "1500m women - Olympic Athletics". International Olympic Committee. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Phillips, Mitch. "Kenyan Kipyegon in late charge for 1,500m gold". U.S. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
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