Faith Kipyegon is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 meters. She is one of the most successful and dominant athletes in the history of the event, having won two Olympic gold medals, two world titles, and set the world record of 3:49.11 in 2022. She is also the second woman ever to win back-to-back Olympic titles in the 1500 meters, after Tatyana Kazankina of the Soviet Union.
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Height, Weight, Physical Appearance
Faith Kipyegon has a height of 1.57 meters (5 feet 2 inches) and a weight of 42 kilograms (93 pounds). She has a slim and muscular physique that suits her running style. She has black hair and brown eyes. She usually wears a headband when she races.
Husband, Baby & Marriage
Faith Kipyegon is married to Timothy Kitum, a former 800 meters runner who won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. They have two children, a daughter named Alyn who was born in 2018, and a son named Kipkorir who was born in 2021.
Kipyegon took a break from running after giving birth to her daughter but returned to competition in 2019 and regained her form. She credits her husband and family for supporting her career and helping her balance motherhood and athletics.
Parents & Siblings
Faith Kipyegon was born on January 10, 1994, in Bomet, Kenya. She is the eighth of nine children of Samuel Koech and Florence Chepkurui. Her father is a farmer and her mother is a housewife. She has three brothers and two sisters.
Her elder sister Beatrice Mutai is also a runner who holds the world record in the 3000 meters steeplechase. Faith started running at a young age and joined a local athletics club when she was 12 years old.
Age, Birthplace
Faith Kipyegon is currently 29 years old. She was born in Bomet, Kenya, a town in the Rift Valley region that is known for producing many talented runners. She grew up in a rural area where running was a way of life and a means of transportation.
She attended primary and secondary schools in Bomet before moving to Iten, Kenya, to train with Patrick Sang, a former Olympic medalist, and coach of Eliud Kipchoge.
Education, Early Life
Faith Kipyegon completed her high school education at Sing’ore Girls Secondary School in Iten, Kenya. She graduated in 2011 and focused on her running career. She had a successful junior career, winning gold medals at the World Youth
Championships in 2011 and the World Junior Championships in 2012 in 1500 metres. She also won two gold medals at the World Cross Country Championships in the junior races in 2011 and 2013.
Faith Kipyegon BIO/WIKI
Name | Faith Kipyegon |
Profession | Athletics |
Age | 29 years as of 2023 |
Birth Date | 10 January 1994 |
Birth Place | Bomet, Kenya |
Material status | Married |
Husband Name | Nicholas Perrine |
Religion | Christian |
Nationality | Kenya |
Husband Name | Timothy Kitum |
Important Links | Instagram- @faithkipyegon Wikipedia- @Faith_Kipyegon Facebook- @Faith_Kipyegon Twitter- @FaithKipyegon_ Homepage- Mcphagwara.com |
Career, World Records
Faith Kipyegon is a professional runner who represents Kenya in international competitions. She made her senior debut at the 2012 London Olympics, where she failed to qualify for the semifinals of the 1500 meters.
She improved her performance at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, where she finished fifth in the final. She won her first major title at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, beating Laura Muir of Great Britain.
She continued her rise at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, where she won a silver medal behind Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia, who set a world record of 3:50.07. She avenged her defeat at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she beat Dibaba to win the gold medal with an Olympic record of 4:08.92.
She defended her title at the 2017 World Championships in London, where she ran a personal best of 4:02.59 to beat Jennifer Simpson of the United States and Caster Semenya of South Africa. She took a break from running after giving birth to her daughter in 2018.
She made a remarkable comeback at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, where she won a silver medal behind Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who ran a championship record of 3:51.95. She also ran a personal best of 3:54.22 in the semifinals.
She cemented her legacy at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she won her second consecutive gold medal with a Games record of 3:53.11, beating Hassan and Muir. She became the second woman in history to achieve this feat, after Kazankina.
She reached new heights at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, where she won her second world title with a stunning world record of 3:49.11, breaking Dibaba’s mark by almost a second. She also broke the African record, the Diamond League record, and the championship record.
She is widely regarded as the greatest female 1500 metres runner of all time, and one of the best middle-distance runners ever. She has won seven individual gold medals and three silver medals at major championships. She has also won three Diamond League trophies and set two world records.
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5000 Meter World Record
Faith Kipyegon is a Kenyan runner who has made history by setting two world records in two different events within a week. On June 10, 2023, she ran the women’s 5,000 meters at the Paris Diamond League meeting in 14 minutes and 5.20 seconds, breaking the previous record of 14:06.62 held by Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia. This was only her third elite race over this distance, and she had no expectations of a world-beating time. She followed Gidey’s pace for most of the race, then sprinted past her in the final lap with a stunning speed of 61.1 seconds.
This remarkable feat came just a week after she set the world record in the women’s 1,500 meters at the Golden Gala meet in Florence, Italy. She clocked 3 minutes 49.11 seconds, shaving almost a second off the previous mark of 3:50.07 set by Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia in 2015. Kipyegon is a two-time Olympic and world champion in the 1,500 meters and has shown her versatility and dominance in middle-distance running.
Kipyegon is one of the greatest athletes of her generation and has inspired many people with her achievements. She said she did not know what would be next for her, but added that anything was possible if her body was healthy. She also praised Gidey as an amazing lady and a strong competitor.
Achievements
Faith Kipyegon has achieved many accolades and honours in her running career. Some of her notable achievements are:
- Two Olympic gold medals (2016, 2020) and two Olympic records (2016, 2020) in the 1500 meters.
- Two world titles (2017, 2022) and two world records (2022) in the 1500 meters.
- Two world silver medals (2015, 2019) in the 1500 meters.
- One Commonwealth Games gold medal (2014) in the 1500 meters.
- One World Relays gold medal (2014) in the 4×1500 meters.
- Three Diamond League trophies (2017, 2021, 2022) in the 1500-meter.
- One African record (2022) in the 1500 meters.
- One Diamond League record (2022) in the 1500-meter.
- One championship record (2022) in the 1500 meters.
- Two World Junior Championships gold medals (2011, 2012) in the 1500 meters.
- Two World Youth Championships gold medals (2011) in the 1500 meters.
- Two World Cross Country Championships gold medals (2011, 2013) in the junior races.
Faith Kipyegon has also earned a lot of money from her running career. She has received prize money from winning races and championships, as well as bonuses from breaking records and winning medals. She has also signed endorsement deals with various brands and sponsors, such as Nike, which provides her with shoes and apparel. She has also appeared in commercials and advertisements for various products and services.
Net Worth
According to some sources, Faith has an estimated net worth of $5 million as of 2023. She is one of the richest and most successful female athletes in Kenya and Africa.
Interesting Facts About Faith Kipyegon
- She is the second woman in history to claim back-to-back Olympic titles at the 1500 meters, winning gold medals at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games.
- She set the world record in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:49.11 at the Diamond League meet in Florence, Italy on June 2, 2023.
- Faith Kipyegon also set the world record in the 5000 meters with a time of 14:05.20 at the Diamond League meet in Paris, France on June 10, 2023.
- She is a two-time world champion in the 1500 meters, winning gold medals at the 2017 London and 2022 Eugene World Championships.
- She is also a two-time world silver medallist in the 1500 meters, finishing second at the 2015 Beijing and 2019 Doha World Championships.
- Kipyegon won her first international title at the age of 17 when she won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2011 World Under-18 Championships in Lille, France.
- She also won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2012 World Under-20 Championships in Barcelona, Spain.
- She was the Commonwealth Games champion in the 1500 meters at the 2014 Glasgow Games.
- Faith was a three-time Diamond League winner in the 1500 meters, taking the trophy in 2017, 2021 and 2022.
- She was a two-time world junior cross country champion, winning the individual and team gold medals at the 2011 Punta Umbria and 2013 Bydgoszcz editions.
- She was part of the Kenyan team that set the world record in the women’s 4×1500 meters relay with a time of 16:33.58 at the World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas in 2014.
- Faith was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2017.
- She is coached by Patrick Sang, who also mentors marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge.