The two-time Olympic champion hopes that her journey will be an inspiration to other women who are in the sport and that they can also live normal lives.
Double world record holder Faith Kipyegon has revealed that getting her body back after giving birth was the major challenge during her motherhood journey and on many occasions, she thought motherhood would lead to the end of her athletics career.
Kipyegon took a break in 2017 and welcomed her bouncing baby girl, Alyn on June 2018. She disclosed that she had many thoughts running through her mind and gained close to 20kg, something that troubled her so much.
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The two-time world champion said she was uncertain about whether she would go back into competitive athletics at some point. However, she disclosed that too much thinking offered no solution and she decided to embrace the journey and hope for the best.
“It wasn’t an easy journey…I gained weight from 43kg to 63kg. I was used to my tiny body and being an athlete, gaining weight bothered me a lot. I was wondering how I could snap back to my body after delivery.
There was a lot going on in my mind and I wondered if I could go back to running. However, I got to a point where I had to be positive and be an inspiration to many other women who are athletes.
Right now, I have a baby back at home and I’m a world record holder…motherhood didn’t stop me from being an elite athlete,” Kipyegon said.
The two-time Olympic champion hopes that her journey will be an inspiration to other women who are in the sport and that they can also live normal lives.
She added that her daughter is her greatest source of inspiration at the moment and she pushes her to do better each day.
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“Holding my baby in my hands for the first time was a life-changing moment for me and it was so special. My daughter is motivation enough for me to wake up every morning and work hard,” she said.
Coming back from the maternity break, Kipyegon was stronger and better. Despite finishing second at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, she had displayed class and proven that she was back and meant business.
Since 2019, she has been unbeaten in all of her major championships including the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the 2022 World Championships in Oregon. She is the current 1500m and 5000m world record holder, feats she achieved in a span of one week.
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