Faith Kipyegon Breaks Women's 1500m World Record

Kenyan athlete and two-time Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon has broken the world record.

She smashed the women's 1500m world record, clocking 3:49.11 at a Diamond League meet in Florence, Italy, on Friday, June 2.

Regarded as the greatest athlete of all time in her discipline, Kipyegon took 96 hundredths of a second off Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba‘s world record from 2015, having begun the day as the second-fastest woman in history at 3:50.37.

Faith Kipyegon celebrates with other athletes after breaking the world record during a Diamond League meet in Florence, Italy on June 2, 2023. /WORLD ATHLETICS

"Hard work, determination and consistency has been crowned this evening.

"Congratulations Faith Kipyegon for shattering the 1500m World Record in Florence, Italy and writing your name in the history of athletics. Kenya also salutes Ferdinand Omanyala for second position in 100m. Keep going," President William Ruto wrote on his social media.

"Faith Kipyegon, congratulations on your fantastic and spectacular feat of breaking the 1500m world record at the Florence Diamond League! Your run was amazing!" tweeted former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga.

The reigning world champion missed the world record by a whisker in last year’s (2022) Monaco Diamond League when she clocked 3 minutes, 50.37 seconds against the world record mark of three minutes, 50.07 seconds formally set by Dibaba.

Even her competitors were in awe of her performance. Britain’s Laura Muir, who finished second behind her, was excited to be part of the race. Muir clocked 3:57;09 while Australia's Jesicca Hull finished third in 3:57.29.

“It was great to be part of the world record race. But it was not the first world record race I was running in, I was in previous ones. I am so happy for Faith. I would have loved to be closer to her. But for the first race of the season, this is really decent. I have never gone through the first 800m as fast as today,” she stated.

The 29-year-old opened her 2023 season with a routine victory at the Doha Diamond League last month where she clocked a world-leading 3:58.57.

“I am delighted to be here in Florence for the second time. I came here in 2021 and managed to run 3:53 and so everything is possible. I am looking forward to a nice race.  The world record is still on my heart and my mind and I hope this year will be perfect for me,” Kipyegon told journalists.

Meanwhile, in Florence, Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala finished second to world champion Fred Kerley of the USA who extended a year-plus win streak in the men’s 100m, prevailing in 9.94 seconds over Omanyala (10.04) and American Trayvon Bromell (10.09).

Omanyala suffered his first 100m loss of the season at the Rabat Diamond League last Sunday where he finished third in 10.05 seconds behind Kerley who won in 9.94 seconds and South Africa’s Akani Simbine who finished second in 9.99 sec.

Omanyala beat Kerley at the Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour last year before the American went on to win the world title on home soil at the Oregon World Championships which Omanyala missed on the finals owing to late arrival in the US due to a visa hitch.