By Citius Mag Staff
June 2, 2023
Two-time Olympic champion and reigning world champion Faith Kipyegon shattered the women's 1500m world record in 3:49.11 to win the Florence Diamond League on Friday night. Kipyegon became the first woman ever to break the 3:50 barrier in the event.
Here’s what you need to know:
– The previous world record was 3:50.07 set by Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba in 2015.
– Kipyegon had come close to the record before, missing it by a mere 0.3 seconds during a race in Monaco last August. During Thursday’s pre-race press conference, she confirmed that she was targeting the world record in Florence.
How it happened:
– Kipyegon was paced by Brooke Feldmeier and Sage Hurta-Klecker. They hit the 400m mark in 1:02.37 and 800m mark in 2:04.00. Kipyegon started to make the pass on the Wavelight pacing technology after hitting the bell lap in 3:05.28. She closed the final lap in 58.87 seconds.
What happened behind her:
– Great Britain's Laura Muir took second place with a time of 3:57.09.
– Australia's Jessica Hull set an area record in 3:57.29 for third place.
– It wasn’t the best day for the Americans. Josette Norris took eighth in 4:01.39 and Cory McGee was 10th in 4:01.45.
What she said afterward:
“I was really pushing myself toward the finish line. The fans were amazing. They were really cheering me to push myself to the finish line and I thank them for coming out and cheering me up. We made it.”
Our Take:
This was a long time coming for Kipyegon. She’s already the greatest women’s 1500m runner of all-time. It was only a matter of time for her to claim the world record. Loved the moment afterward when all of her competitors gathered with her for a photo. If you’ve heard some of our past interviews with Laura Muir or Ciara Mageean, you know how well-respected she is by the fiercest of her competitors. Kipyegon is still in the prime of her career and we’re going to be treated to many great performances for the next few years. – Chris Chavez
This is a long time coming and so well-deserved! You can see just from the reaction of her competitors how genuinely loved Faith is by the entire running community. With this mark now she is the undisputed greatest 1500m runner of all time. – Kyle Merber
Watching her close in 58 after running half the race alone makes me think she can go even faster. It’s hard to imagine anyone rising to the level of seriously challenging her any time soon (unless Sifan Hassan totally abandons the marathon), but I’d love to see what she could do being really pushed in the later laps. – David Melly
Citius Mag Staff
