After winning gold in the 1500m race at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Saturday, August 10, 2024, Faith Kipyegon has revealed the main dream she has achieved.
After an outstanding season in 2023, Kipyegon has had another impressive outing this year so far, although she missed a gold medal in the 5000m, which was won by her teammate, Beatrice Chebet.
The 30-year-old three-time world 1500m champion and world record holder 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.
It was a dream to win in Paris, and Kipyegon revealed how elated she was.
“It’s a big, big achievement. 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,” Kipyegon said as per World Athletics.
World 2000m record-holder Jessica Hull of Australia overtook world road mile champion Diribe Welteji to take silver, as she clocked 3:52.56 with Great Britain’s Georgia Bell earning bronze with a national record of 3:52.61.
5000M miss
Kipyegon also revisited the debacle that surrounded the 5000m, where she was engaged in a push-and-pull battle with Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay.
“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. ‘I didn’t sleep. It was like, ‘What is going on?’” she continued.
In the 1500m battle, 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.
Kipyegon finally won the race, and she consequently earned her a seventh global title at senior level.