Faith Kipyegon underlined her status as the queen of the 1500m, bagging her third successive Olympic title at the distance at the Paris 2024 Games on Saturday (10), becoming the first woman to win three Olympic golds in a single track discipline.
Each stride she made on the purple track of the packed Stade de France took her closer to her legendary status. Three-time world 1500m champion and world record-holder, Kipyegon produced a fearless run on the last lap to clock 3:51.29, taking two seconds off the Olympic record she set in Tokyo three years ago.
As the 30-year-old Kenyan crossed the line, she soaked in the moment, her eyes closed, mouth and hands open. She then signalled the crowd to cheer her on and punched the air.
“It's a big, big achievement,” said Kipyegon, who took silver over 5000m earlier in the Games. “I was really looking forward to defending my title and I had a dream. It’s amazing to me that I completed it. I'm so, so happy. This is history. I managed to make history. I've done it. This is an amazing honour; to win the gold medal in the 1500m was my key target.”
World 2000m record-holder Jessica Hull of Australia overtook world road mile champion Diribe Welteji to take silver, clocking 3:52.56 as Great Britain’s Georgia Bell also passed Welteji close to the finish to earn bronze with a national record of 3:52.61.
“I envisioned it being a battle, four of us at the top of the straight,” said Hull. “I was like, 'I’m not going to be the one going home without a medal'. To see Georgia (Bell) come through, it’s pretty incredible. We’ve just come second and third behind the greatest of all time.”
Having doubled up with the 5000m, Kipyegon ran the heats and the semifinals of the 1500m doing just enough to advance through each round.
"After the disappointment in the 5000m (first being disqualified and then having her silver medal reinstated after an appeal), it took a lot of energy from me,” said Kipyegon. “I didn't sleep until yesterday. It was like, 'What is going on?'”
Gudaf Tsegay, who earlier this year ran 3:50.30, was expected to be one of Kipyegon’s biggest threats, but the Ethiopian had already contested the 5000m and 10,000m, finishing outside of the medals in both finals.
But with so many other women in the field who have broken 4:00 this year, it was no surprise that it took an Olympic record from Kipyegon to win.
Tsegay set the early pace, followed by USA’s Elle St Pierre, Bell and Welteji while Kipyegon opted to sit back. A lead pack of eight women emerged before Kipyegon made her move into second place with Hull tracking the Kenyan.
When the bell rang, Kipyegon took command of the race with Welteji and Hull right behind as Tsegay – just as she had done in the closing stages of the 5000m and 10,000m – started to fade.
Kipyegon’s turn of pace earned her a seventh global title at senior level – another golden addition to the collection for her daughter Alyn to hang around her neck.
Credit: World Athletics