Did you know that Faith Kipyegon defended her Olympic title and set a new record?
Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon is a middle-distance runner who specializes in 1,500 meters. The Kenyan athlete has a record of winning a gold medal in every major championship and back to back gold medals in the Olympics games.
Kipyegon defended her Olympic title and won a gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics held in August 2021 in Japan. Apart from Tatyana Kazankina, Kipyegon is the other woman who has won two Olympic 1,500m titles. She has also set a new Olympic record of 3:53:11 thus breaking Paula Ivan’s record.
The 1,500m specialist had taken a 2-year break from the competitions to give birth to her daughter and recover from an injury.
The article will tell you what has been motivating Faith Kipyegon from her childhood, personal life, career and achievement as well as what people can learn from her impressive performance.
Let’s get started.
Childhood
Kipyegon was born on January 10, 1994. She is the seventh born in a family of 8. Her father Samuel Koech Kipyegon became known after connecting his home with electricity a few days after his daughter won the 2016 Rio Olympics. Linah Koech is Kipyegon’s mother.
Kipyegon lived in Keringet before relocating to Eldoret in 2019. The middle-distance runner schooled at Keringet Winners Girls High School in Kuresoi, Nakuru County. Piet de Peut, a Dutch philanthropist is the founder of this institution. Its mission is to provide a conducive space for education and tap talent.
In 2015 Kipyegon sat for her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and began running at the age of 16. She competed and finished 5th in the 2010 World Cross Country Championship. She, however, won a gold medal with her team in this women’s junior race. She also won a gold medal in the same race the following year both individually and with her team.
The 1,500m runner was initially not interested in athletics; instead, she wanted to play football. It’s her school principal Madam Marlyn Lasoi who greatly molded her career. Actually, Kipyegon was set to quit athletics after completing her secondary school but the principal persuaded her through a local politician and other stakeholders in the sporting industry.
Beatrice Mutai is her elder sister and 10,000m and half-marathon specialist. She participated and finished 3rd in the African Cross Country Championships held in Cameroon. Both Mutai and Kipyegon are training partners.
Personal Life
Timothy Kitum is Kipyegon’s husband and the couple have one daughter. Alyn Chepkor Kiprono was born in 2018 and they both have a strong bond. In fact, Kipyegon missed the Commonwealth Championship because she was expectant. She says she didn’t mind missing that opportunity because she was carrying gold which she delivered not on the track but in the labor ward. As a result, she dedicated her Tokyo Olympics gold medal to her daughter, Alyn.
She said,
“First gold medal as a mom, I dedicate this medal to my daughter. When I see her, I get encouraged to work hard, this medal belongs to her. “
She also revealed that her daughter is extraordinary because, unlike other children, she never crawled. Kipyegon keeps any other information about herself and her family out of the public
Athletics Career and Achievement
Olympic Games
She competed and won a gold medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Kipyegon also won gold in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan and set a new record of 3:53:11.
World Cross Country Championships
· Junior Career
Kipyegon competed in the 2010 World Cross Country Championships and finished 5th in the individual category but won a gold medal as a team.
She won a gold medal as an individual and with her team in the 2011 World Cross Country Championships as well as in the World Youth Championships later in the year.
The 1,500m runner participated and won gold in the 2012 World Junior Championship that was held in Barcelona.
In 2013 Kipyegon competed in the World Cross Country Championships in Poland and won the junior individual race. She also participated in the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix where she established a new Kenyan record. However, she closed the year by finishing in the 5th position in the World Championship in Moscow.
· Senior Career
She began her senior races by winning a gold medal in the IAAF World Relays held in Nassau, Bahamas. The 4 x 1,500m relay included Irene Jelagat, Faith Kipyegon, Hellen Obiri, and Mercy Cherono. Later in the year, she won gold in Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Scotland.
In August 2015, attended and won a silver medal in the World Championships while in September she won the Diamond League finale ahead of Sifan Hassan.
She won three races in 2017 thus earning the Diamond League 1500m title. In the same year, Kipyegon won the London IAAF World Championships becoming the 3rd woman to win the 1,500m race in the World Championships and Olympics in the history of athletics.
She competed in the 2019 World Championships and won a silver medal. This was after giving birth to Alyn.
She participated and improved her national record at the 2021 Wanda Diamond League two times. She finished in the 2nd position in the Rome Golden Gala. She also outsprinted Sifan Hassan 2.5 seconds in the Monaco Herculis thus establishing the 4th fastest time in the 1500m race history.
She won the 2021 Diamond League title at the world Class Zurich (Weltklasse Zurich).
Lessons People can Learn from Faith Kipyegon
Kipyegon is patriotic and looks for opportunities to fly the Kenyan flag higher. The following is her sentiments about Kenyan athletes changing their nationality.
“I am proud of my country, I know I am strong and can qualify to the World Championships or Olympics (and) I don’t have to switch.”
She encourages other athletes to remain in the country despite the stiff competition and run for Kenya. Actually, Kipyegon has vowed to continue with an impressive performance in order to put and maintain her country on the global map during any athletic games.
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