•Kipyegon said although she knew she had the kick, winning the 5,000m title was not a sure bet.
• The Queen of Track said she still has a few Diamond League races to tackle, including Oregon, before she can close the year and enjoy the moment with her family.
Image: ERICK BARASA
Triple world record holder Faith Kipyegon summed up her 2023 as an amazing year after securing a second gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Kipyegon won the women’s 5,000m gold medal, three days after bagging the 1500m gong at the National Athletics Centre.
She clocked 14:53.88 ahead of Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who timed 14:54.11. Beatrice Chebet took the bronze medal in 14:54.33 with Margaret Chelimo completing the top four places in 14:56.632. The fourth Kenyan, Lilian Kasait, was 10th in 14:59.32.
“I must say it’s been an amazing and historic year for me and I want to dedicate the second gold medal here to my husband, Timothy Kitum, who has been very supportive,” she noted.
Kipyegon said although she knew she had the kick, winning the 5,000m title was not a sure bet.
“I had to dig deeper to win the gold and I just want to enjoy the moment,” she said.
“This race was very competitive and some countries like Ethiopia had even come up with a game plan. You saw Ethiopians pacing up and down and we had to be strong mentally.”
She has done a few 5,000m races and will build on this win as she heads towards her bigger goal of featuring in the marathon.
“I think this is the fifth 5,000m race of my career and I am happy to have won the gold medal. It wasn’t easy,” she noted.
Kipyegon hopes to join Chebet, Chelimo, and Kasait in the 5,000m in the near future and thanked them for making it happen.
“I know we have a very strong 5000m team and I am sure they will remain strong as we race towards Paris 2024 next year,” she noted.
The Queen of Track said she still has a few Diamond League races to tackle, including Oregon, before she can close the year and enjoy the moment with her family.
She also confirmed that she will race in the newly introduced road mile at the World Road Running Championships in Latvia from September 30 to October 1.
“The Latvia race will mark the end of my season,” Kipyegon told a press conference in Budapest.
In Latvia, she will have the company of fast-rising Nelly Chepchirchir, and world steeplechase record holder, Beatrice Chepkoech.
Chebet (Beatrice) was equally over the moon. She said it was inspiring to win a medal while competing in the company of Kipyegon and Sifan.
“This medal means a lot to me considering I was up against Kipyegon and Hassan in this race,” she noted.
Hassan, who was going for an unprecedented treble across the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m, was consoled by her silver, one place higher than her position in the 1500m, having suffered a fall in the 10,000m final which denied her a medal.
“These championships have taught me a lot,” she said. “It has given me more confidence because I moved to the marathon this year and for two years I’ve hardly done any speed work at all."
"How I was able to sprint at the end, I don’t know. I really felt amazing on the last lap and it was only in the last 20 metres I couldn’t hold on. Faith was stronger than me today, but I know where I am at and I’m excited.”
“I will have to be sharper next year and prepare myself more for these shorter races. I am a very bad tactical racer. I hate it. I love racing too much. But tonight, I thought I’d see how I do in a tactical race and I felt amazing, especially over the last 400m."