Paris Olympics: Kenya's Faith Kipyegon records this unique feat
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon won the 1,500m gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Faith won the race as she was over a second ahead of others in the final field. She became the first-ever athlete with three 1,500m gold medals. She claimed gold at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games too. No other athlete even has three medals in this regard.
Faith sets another Olympic record
Faith won the 1,500m gold medal in Paris with a time of 3:51.29, now an Olympic record. Jessica Hull and Georgia Bell won the silver and bronze medals. Notably, the Kenyan athlete was ahead by 1.27 seconds. It is worth noting that Faith held the previous Olympic 1,500m record set at the 2020 Tokyo Games. She ran 3:53.11 to win gold.
A record-breaking year
In June this year, Faith finished atop both 1,500m (3:53.99) and 5,000m (14:46.28). The Kenyan star later broke her own 1,500m world record by seven hundredth of a second, running 3:49.04 at Meeting de Paris. Besides winning yet another gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Faith claimed silver in the women's 5,000m. She was initially disqualified but claimed silver after an appeal.
Other best timings of Faith
Faith also has the current world record in One mile, a middle-distance foot race. She ran 4:07.64 in Fontvieille, Monaco, in July 2023. She also has the second-best 1,000m African record in athletics - 2:29.15 - set in Fontvieille, Monaco, in 2020. Faith owns the all-time 4×1,500m relay record - 16:33.58 - set in Nassau, Bahamas, in 2014.
Who is Faith Kipyegon?
Faith was born on January 10, 1994, in Bomet in Kenya. She is a track and field athlete who competes in several women's racing event. As per the Olympics.com, the Kenyan athlete played football before venturing into athletics at the age of 14. Four-time Olympic medalist Vivian Cheruiyot in 5000m, Vivian Cheruiyot, has been one of her idols.
Notable awards of Faith
Faith was adjudged the World Athletics World Female Track Athlete of the Year (2023). She was named the Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
