Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon stamped her authority on the women’s 1,500m final almost from the start on Monday and drove on relentlessly to take her second world gold in 3 minutes 52.96 seconds.
Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay and Briton Laura Muir, who matched Kipyegon stride for lung-busting stride until the last 300m, took silver and bronze.
Kipyegon, winner of the last two Olympic 1,500m golds, the 2017 world title and who picked up a world silver in 2019 a year after having a baby, came to Eugene on the back of posting the year’s fastest time on the same Hayward Field track in May.
In this article, we take a look Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon’s profile/Biography
Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon’s profile/Biography
Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon was born in 10 January 1994.
She is a Kenyan middle-distance runner specializing in the 1500 metres.
A 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion with the Olympic record at the latter, she has won or finished second in every major championships since she was 20 in 2014.
Competing at the World Championships in 2015, 2017 and 2019, Kipyegon took a silver medal, a gold and a silver respectively. In July 2021, she achieved the fourth fastest time in history, setting her consecutive Kenyan record.
In her signature event, Kipyegon took gold medals at the 2011 World U18 Championships, and the 2012 World U20 Championships.
Aged 18, she did not reach semifinals of the 2012 London Olympics, but won the junior races at the 2011 and 2013 World Cross Country Championships, and finished fifth at the 2013 World Championships. She was 2014 Commonwealth Games champion, and 2017 and 2021 Diamond League winner.
Faith Kipyegon Junior career
At age 16, Faith Kipyegon ran in the 2010 World Cross Country Championships women’s junior race. She came in 5th place individually and won the gold medal with her team.
She participated in the 2011 World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria and won the gold medal in the junior race both with her team and individually. A few months afterward, she competed at the World Youth Championships in the 1500 m winning a gold medal ahead of three Ethiopian runners with a time of 4m 9.48s.
At the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, she won a gold medal in her signature event way ahead of the field with a time of 4:04.96; the Serbian Amela Terzić and Ethiopian Senbere Teferi took 2nd and 3rd respectively. The 18-year-old qualified for the London Olympics, but at the event failed to advance to the semi-finals.
At the beginning of the 2013 season, Kipyegon won the junior individual race at the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. On 10 May, at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix in Doha, she established a new Kenyan Record in the 1500 m with a time of 3:56.98, facing the Swedish runner Abeba Aregawi. In August, at the World Championships in Moscow, she came fifth in the final in a time of 4:05.08.
Faith Kipyegon Senior career
In 2014, she won a gold medal in the 4×1500 m relay at the first IAAF World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas, along with Mercy Cherono, Irene Jelagat and Hellen Obiri. The Kenyan team, ahead of the United States and Australia, improved the World Record time to 16:33.58. The same year, she added a gold in her specialist event at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
2015
On 25 August 2015, Kipyegon won a silver at the World Championships in Beijing, finishing second to world record holder Genzebe Dibaba in the 1500 m event.
On 11 September, at the Diamond League finale in Brussels, she won the mile in 4:16.71, beating Sifan Hassan, who finished in 4:18.20, in the final stretch.
2016
In August 2016, she competed at the Rio Olympic Games, where she won her event in 4:08.92 with a 56.8-second final lap.
2017
In 2017, she earned the Diamond League 1500 m title, winning three races in Shanghai, Eugene, and Brussels. Her best success of this year was the first place at the London World Championships, becoming only the third woman in history to win both the Olympic and World Championships 1500 m race. She clocked 4:02.59 while three next women also recorded times below 4m 3s.
2018–2020
Kipyegon gave birth to her first child in 2018, returning in 2019 to win silver medal in her signature event at the World Championships, where she set a Kenyan record of 3:54.22. Sifan Hassan came first in 3:51.95.
2021
In 2021, she improved her national record twice at the Diamond League meetings. On 10 June, she ran 3:53.91 at the Rome Golden Gala meet, staged exceptionally in Florence, to finish second just behind Sifan Hassan, who timed 3:53.63. On 9 July at the Monaco Herculis, Kipyegon stopped the clock at a world-leading 3m 51.07s – the 4th fastest time in history – outsprinting Hassan in the home straight by 2.5 s.
At the women’s 1500 m final of the 2020 Olympic Games, Kipyegon overtook Hassan in the last 400m to win her second Olympic gold medal in the event and set a new olympic record with a time of 3 minutes 53.11 seconds.
Kipyegon won a 2021 Diamond League title at the Zürich Weltklasse.
Tokyo Olympics
Faith Kipyegon bagged gold medal in Women’s 1,500-meters at the Tokyo Olympics (2020), with a record time of 3:53.11.
World Continental Tour (Kip Keino Classic)
After a dramatic win in the women’s 1500m at the 2021 Zurich Diamond League, Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon won the World Continental Tour held in her home soil, Nairobi.
Most notable career records:
2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona (1500 m gold medal)
2012 Olympic Games in London, United Kingdom(1500 m gold medal)
2013 World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland (gold medal junior race)
2013 World Championships in Moscow, Russia (1500 m 5th position)
2014 World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas (4×1500 m gold medal)
2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, United Kingdom (1500 m gold medal)
2015 World Championships in Beijing, China (1500 m silver medal)
2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1500 m gold medal)
2017 World Cross Country Championship in Kampala, Uganda (Senior race 6th position)
2017 World Championships in London, United Kingdom (1500 m gold medal)
2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar (1500 m silver medal)
2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan (1500 m gold medal)
Faith Chepng’etich marriage
Faith is a happily married woman. The name of Faith Kipyegon’s husband is Timothy Kitum. Faith prefers to keep details about her love life under wraps. There are no details about how they met and when they got married.
Who are Faith Kipyegon’s children? The Olympic gold medalist is the proud mother of one. She has a daughter, Alyn Chepkor Kiprono, who was born in June 2018. Her daughter is three years old as of 2021.
Faith Kipyegon’s net worth
Faith boasts of a successful career as an athlete that has seen her win several gold and silver medals. Over the course of her career, she has amassed a fortune. So how rich is she in 2021? Her net worth is estimated at between $1 million – $8 million. The bulk of her net worth comes from her career as a professional athlete.
Every time Faith Kipyegon wins, she receives a significant sum as prize money. For instance, she was awarded Ksh.1 million as prize money by President Uhuru Kenyatta after she won a gold medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. She is still active in the sport, which means that her net worth will continue to increase in the future as she continues with her career.
Faith Kipyegon’s house
Faith has amassed an impressive net worth, and she can afford to live a luxurious lifestyle. If you are her fan, you must be interested in knowing the kind of house she lives in.
She lives in a beautiful house in Eldoret with her husband and daughter. The house is in close proximity to her training camp in Kaptagat.
Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon is a force to reckon with in the women’s 1500m race. She has risen through the ranks to become the champion and gold medalist of this event. The future is bright for the young talented athlete as she will undoubtedly continue putting Kenya on the global map with her impressive performance.
