NAIROBI: Double Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon said she is looking forward to a bright summer in Paris, where she will chase two gold medals, after winning the 1500m and 5000m at the Kenyan Olympics Trials in Nairobi.
Despite not competing since September’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, the 30-year-old secured her ticket in both distances for the Paris Olympics with a season’s best performance.
A day after winning the 5000m in 14:46.28, the Rio and Tokyo Games 1500m champion demonstrated her mastery of the distance on Saturday, setting the track ablaze with a record time of 3:53.98, the fastest time ever in the women’s 1500m in Kenya.
“I am looking forward to a bright summer (at the Games)”, Kipyegon, who also holds the world record for 1500m, said after the race.
“It was my plan to see and execute what’s possible today. I wanted to run 3:55, but it was surprisingly 3:53. I’m excited to be back on the track and executing this way.
“It was my plan to run a faster 1500 than the 5000m yesterday, I am grateful I made both teams and won both races.”
Only Kipyegon and Russia’s Tatiana Kazankina have successfully defended a women’s Olympic 1500m title.
Last summer in Budapest, the Kenyan became the first athlete to achieve a World Championships double at 1500m and 5,000m. It was her third world 1500m title and came in a season in which she set three world records.
She will be joined on the Kenyan teamby reigning world 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who made no mistake at Saturday’s trials to clock a world leading and personal best time of 1:41:70.
Elsewhere, Africa’s 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala ran 9.79secs in his fifth race of the season. It was Omanyala’s second fastest time.
“I am happy with my time here today and the progress I am making ahead of the Olympics. It shows me if I train very well in the next few weeks I should expect very good results. I have peaked at the right time,” he said.
The athletics competition at the Paris Olympics will take place from Aug 1-11 at the Stade de France.
Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2024
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