Two-time Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon’s main goal is to win a historic third title in the event in Paris. The athlete from Kenya has not yet decided whether she will run the 5,000m. The 30-year-old Kenyan athlete won the title in 2016 and 2021. Only two athletes have won gold medals twice in the 1,500m at the Olympic Games – Sebastian Coe (UK) and Tatyana Kazankina (USSR).
“My main goal is to defend the 1,500m title, to become the first person to win three gold medals. I can’t wait. My head, my spirit, my preparation – everything is focused on Paris”, said Faith Kipyegon during her training camp. “I said I wanted to leave a legacy. That’s what I was talking about – three Olympic gold medals as well as a world record”, added she.
Faith Kipyegon set the world record in Florence last June (3:49.11 minutes), and she is also a three-time world champion.
If successful, she can say she has accomplished everything before moving on to a longer distance. Faith Kipyegon also runs the 5,000m, becoming the world champion in this discipline from Budapest as well. She has not yet decided whether she will compete in the 5,000м in Paris.
“I can’t say yet that I’m thinking about 5000m, we have to decide with my team what is possible”, said the Kenyan athlete.
Faith Kipyegon broke the 5,000m world record in Budapest (14:05.20 min), but it was then improved by Ethiopian runner Gudaf Tsegay, who clocked an astonishing 14:00.21 min.
