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Faith Kipyegon is a Kenyan track and field athlete who specialises in the middle and long distances and is the current world record holder in the 1500 metres. Find out more information about her here.
Kenya is known for dominating the long distances in athletics, and Kipyegon is one of its biggest flagbearers.
In this article, Pulse Sports brings you details about her life, career, family, and achievements.
Faith Kipyegon Background (Who is Faith Kipyegon?)
Faith Kipyegon, nicknamed the "smiling destroyer," is a Kenyan long-distance runner who has achieved a lot of success in her career.
Kipyegon grew up in an athletic family with a traceable sporting lineage. Her father was a 400- and 800-metre runner, laying the foundation for her future athletic prowess.
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Her elder sister and former training partner, Beatrice Mutai, is also a 10 km and half marathon specialist, while her mother, Linah Koech, was also involved with athletics.
Interestingly, Kipyegon's journey did not begin in athletics, as she was initially a soccer enthusiast. However, fate intervened when she participated in a school race at the age of 14 and effortlessly outpaced her competitors by a significant margin, igniting her passion for running.
Her talent blossomed rapidly, and by 2010, at just 16 years old, she was making waves on the international stage, competing barefoot at the World Cross Country Championships.
Despite her youth and unconventional footwear, she finished fourth in the junior race, the youngest finisher in the top 21, and she earned the gold medal with her under-20 team in a Kenyan 1–4 sweep.
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In the same year, she raised the bar by finishing third in the 1500 metres at the Kenyan World Junior Championship Trials in Nairobi.
Competing barefoot again, Kipyegon won the individual gold medal at the 2011 edition in Punta Umbria, Spain, adding a silver with her team.
By June 2012, an 18-year-old Kipyegon had won the 1500 metres at the Kenyan Junior Athletics Championships. She also finished third at the Kenyan Olympic Trials in the same year, securing a spot on the national team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where she failed to advance to the semi-finals.
Her transition to the senior category was seamless, and she soon established herself as a force to be reckoned with.
Kipyegon secured her first senior 1500 m victory, becoming the 2014 Commonwealth Games champion in Scotland with a time of 4:08.94.
In 2015, she won a silver in the 1500 m event at the World Championships in Beijing, before winning an Olympic gold medal in the 1500 m event at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The Kenyan became the world champion at the London World Championships in August 2017, becoming the first Kenyan female world 1500 m champion and only the third woman in history to win both the Olympic and World Championships finals over the distance.
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After becoming a world champion, Kipyegon decided to start a family, and she became a mother in 2018, which led to a brief absence from the track before she returned to training in January 2019.
She won a silver medal at the World Championships in Doha in the same year, chopping more than two seconds from her 2016 Kenyan record in the final with a time of 3:54.22.
The delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics took place in August 2021, and Kipyegon secured consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 1500 m event in a time of 3:53.11.
She broke the Games record, which had stood for 33 years, becoming the second woman in history to win back-to-back Olympic 1500 m titles.
The Kenyan won her World Championships gold medal in July 2022, finishing the 1500m in a time of 3:52.96, and this made her the first female athlete to win four global titles over the distance.
Kipyegon went ahead to break the world record in the 1500 m and 5000 m, becoming only the second woman in history to hold both the 1500 m and 5000 m records simultaneously after Paola Pigni in 1969 and the first Kenyan woman to hold the latter.
In 2023, Kipyegon was named the World Athletics Track Athlete of the Year.
How old is Faith Kipyegon? (Faith Kipyegon age)
Faith Kipyegon was born on January 10, 1994, making her 30 years old as of July 2024.
Where was Faith Kipyegon born?
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Faith Kipyegon was born in Bomet, where she grew up in the athletic-rich environment of Chebara, Nakuru County.
She comes from a Kalenjin tribe and is the eighth of nine children who grew up on a farm in a village near Keringet, Nakuru County, in the Kenyan Rift Valley.
When did Faith Kipyegon start running?
Faith Kipyegon discovered her running talent at the age of 14, even though she played soccer at the time.
She ran a one-kilometre race in P.E. class at Winners Girls High School in Keringet and won that race by 20 metres.
How does Faith Kipyegon train?
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Kipyegon prioritises endurance in her training. To maintain peak performance for the demanding 1500 m, she includes long runs of 70–75 minutes in her weekly routine. These extended sessions help build the stamina essential for success over long distances.
Faith Kipyegon Height (How tall is Faith Kipyegon?)
Kipyegon is 5 feet 2 inches tall (157 cm), a frame that helps her crush the middle and long distance races with her sharp stride.
How much does Faith Kipyegon weigh? (Faith Kipyegon Weight)
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Faith Kipyegon weighs approximately 42 kilogrammes, or 93 pounds, and this is appropriate for her, as she is light enough to run for longer distances.
Faith Kipyegon World Record
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Kipyegon holds the world records for the 1500 metres, mile, and 5000 metres, a feat unparalleled in the history of the sport.
In 2023, she shattered the 1500-metre world record, a mark previously considered untouchable for over three decades. Undeterred, she continued her record-breaking spree, claiming the mile and 5000m world records in 2024.
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Faith Kipyegon Olympics
Kipyegon has become a dominant force in Olympic middle-distance running and has clinched gold medals in the 1500 metres at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Her first appearance was at the 2012 London Olympics as an 18-year-old, and the world eagerly anticipates her performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she aims to achieve a historic three-peat.
Faith Kipyegon Coach
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Kipyegon’s trains in Kaptagat (and Kapsabet) and has been coached by Patrick Sang in 2017, a triple global 3000 m steeplechase silver medalist who is also the coach of marathon world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge.
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Sang combines rigorous physical conditioning with mental fortitude, ensuring his athletes are prepared to tackle both the physical and psychological demands of elite competition.
Who is Faith Kipyegon Husband? (Faith Kipyegon Husband)
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Kipyegon is married to fellow Kenyan athlete Timothy Kitum.
Like his wife, Kitum is also a middle-distance runner who specialises in the 800 metres. He achieved significant success in his own career, winning a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
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The couple has a daughter, Alyn, born in June 2018. Kipyegon gave birth to her through a caesarean section due to her being in the wrong position to have a baby.
Faith Kipyegon Net Worth
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Kipyegon is estimated to have a net worth of around $5 million, as per various sources.
She has amassed wealth through a successful career, getting money from winnings and endorsement deals from companies such as Nike.
In 2023, the Government of Kenya rewarded Kipyegon for her feats after breaking both the 1500m and 50000m world records.
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She received a monetary compensation estimated to be around Sh5 million ($38,000) for one record and a Sh6 million ($46,000) residence for the other.
Faith Kipyegon Social Media
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Faith Kipyegon has active accounts on Instagram, Twitter (X), and Facebook.
Her Instagram account has close to 193,000 followers as of July 2024, while his X account has over 15,000 followers and over 606,000 followers on Facebook.
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