Faith Kipyegon’s third gold for Kenya, and fifth world title for herself, on another wonderful day at the Tokyo 25

One of the main highlights of the fourth day of the World Championships, on Tuesday 16th, was the women’s 1500m final. Faith Kipyegon was the clear favourite, but with the surprises and major upsets that have happened in other events, Kenyan fans had to wait till she crossed the finish line to be assured of the gold medal.

Kipyegon seemed to understand the need to get everything right and immediately went to the front soon after the gun. She made it a real 1500m race to avoid jostling and pushing in the end, and the field stretched behind her as the race progressed.

It was indeed a fast race, as Kipyegon recorded 3:52.15 for the gold medal, ahead of her teammate Dorcus Ewoi, who ran a personal best time of 3:54.92 for the silver medal, and Jessica Hull of Australia, who finished in 3:55.16 for the bronze medal. 

Kipyegon defends her World title

“Being able to defend my title and to win a fourth gold feels really special. I just wanted to be myself. After setting the world record in Eugene, I said to myself, ‘I have to go to Tokyo and defend my title.’ I knew I could run it under control,” Faith Kipyegon said.

The first 400m was crossed in 1:04.07, as Kipyegon led, followed by Hull, Sinclaire Johnson of the US, and Dorcus Ewoi. The order of the leading five runners slightly changed as they crossed the 800m point in 2:07.28, but Kipyegon kept the lead.

Johnson began to fade as they approached the bell in the penultimate lap, but the other four remained in the leading pack, behind Kipyegon.

Hull overtook the two Kenyans and followed Kipyegon closely as the latter increased her pace and began to stretch the gap. A 30-microsecond gap quickly grew into one and a half seconds from the last 300m to the last 100m. The Australian might have suffered from trying to keep up with the now five-time world champion, and the two Kenyans began to gain on her in the last 50m. 

Ewoi might have heard it was going to be a fast race

Ewoi managed to run past Hull to win the silver medal. Hull held on to the bronze medal after holding off Nelly Chepchirchir, who was so close to overtaking her.

Ewoi might have heard Kipyegon discussing the race plan with her coach, and she already knew it was going to be fast. She knew one thing: there were going to be no other race tactics but speed. She was prepared to run a personal best time.

“I put myself in a great position after the first lap and tried to keep my eyes on Faith and Nelly. I have no idea where I got my power from for the final sprint but when I realised the medal was so close, I felt like I had wings,” said Ewoi.

Jessica Hull fought hard for the bronze medal

HulI had to fight so hard in the last 20 metres to hold on to a medal after Ewoi overtook her. “I thought of all the people that made it happen: my dad, my training partner, my husband, my mom, who put me in the best position possible to try tonight and get me across that line,” and for sure, the fight helped her go back with a medal to show her family. 

“I tried three or four times before achieving this. It comes from discipline, and then you never know what can happen. I will come back in two days for the 800m. This is a business trip. I will get to have some fun at the end of the week. Then I will head out with my husband to take a much-deserved rest,” Hull spoke about her plans to do well again in her second race at the championships: the women’s 800m.

Chepchirchir missed the medal by a close margin, but she was so happy despite that.

“I am excited. Even though I missed a medal, I ran a personal best. This has been a great season. There’s nothing to regret. I am honoured to be on the same team with Faith Kipyegon. She is a very humble lady. She inspires and motivates us to do our best,” Chepchirchir said after finishing fourth. 

Faith Kipyegon’s win inspires mothers across the world

Not only was this a wonderful day for Faith Kipyegon who had great memories of winning the Olympic gold medal at the same stadium in 2021, but it was a great moment and inspiration to many women who get inspired by her achievements, especially after becoming a mother and getting back to her winning ways.

Kipyegon is now happy that she has another gold medal to show to her daughter.

“I want to win two golds here in Tokyo. I am taking it one race at a time and the 1500m medal is now in the pocket. I will focus now on the 5000m and try to win it,” said Kipyegon.