Despite successfully defending her world 1500m title here in Budapest, Faith Kipyegon still considers her recent record over the distance special.
Kipyegon said the world 1500m record was the only one that was missing in her cabinet and having attained it is something worth celebrating.
All the same, the triple world record holder said it has been an amazing season and she is thankful to the Almighty God for all her achievements.
Kipyegon sang praises of upcoming young Kenyan prodigy, Nelly Chepchichir who was part of the 1500m final.
“Chepchirchir is coming up in a nice way and I hope she takes over after I move to the 5,000m,” she noted.
She dedicated her medal to her coach, Patrick Sang.
“The coach has been amazing to me. He told me to run my race and that is what I did. Just going in front, being myself, and executing as much as possible,” she added.
The two-time Olympic champion clocked 3:54.87 to win the race ahead of Ethiopia’s Diribe Werlteji, who took silver in 3:55.69.
The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan settled for bronze in 3:56.00 while fast-rising Chepchirchir was fifth in a personal best time of 3:57.90.
She admitted that the competition was tough but noted: “I was prepared for it, knowing that all was possible to defend my title and bring the gold back home.”
She said she is happy that she is performing at the top level not just as an athlete but as a mother.
“I hope I have inspired and motivated many to know that everything is possible and that you can go to maternity and come back stronger than before,” she noted.
She thanked Kenyans and her fans around the world for their support and prayers.
“I noted that social media was all about Faith bringing back the gold medal and I really thank my supporters and followers,” she added.
Asked if this would be her last championship, Kipyegon burst into laughter saying: “I don’t know, Only God knows. It's all about what you can still do and we can’t limit what we can do in the future. But I am looking forward to Paris 2024 Olympics."
Chepchirchir said having reached the final and competing with Kipyegon for the first time ever was a good experience.
She said the final race taught her that there is still a lot of work to be done, especially as far as speedwork is concerned.
She said she will go back home and review her experience before embarking on her next phase of training.
Meanwhile, Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan has described Kipyegon as ‘Female Power’ and one of the reasons that makes her work even harder.
“Faith is a great talent and you Kenyans are blessed to have her. She is what I would call ‘FemalePower’ and one of the reasons that makes me push myself in training to measure up to her standards,” she noted.
She said Kenya’s Hellen Obiri is also in her own class. She said having lost the 10,000m and placed third in the 1500m, she will try to make it up in the women’s 5,000m.
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