PARIS 2024: Imperial Faith Kipyegon wins third 1500m gold in Olympic record time

The imperial Faith Kipyegon asserted her dominance yet again in her specialist event at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Saturday night at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, as she broke her own Olympic record to win a third consecutive gold medal in the women's 1 500 metres with a time of 3:51.29.

Kipyegon set an Olympic record in the event three years ago at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games when she clinched her second Olympic gold medal in the event after clocking 3:53.11.

The 30-year old has been the most dominant athlete in the event over the last decade with her crowning moment in Paris coming slightly over a month after she broke her own world record in the women's 1 500 metres after she won the event's race at the Meeting de Paris with a time of 3:49.04 on July 7, 2024.

Jessica Hull of Australi settled for silver in the race after clocking 3:52.56 to finish second.

The bronze medal went Georgia Bell of Great Britain who finished third with a national record time of 3:52.61.

Susan Ejore, the other Kenyan athlete in the race, was 6th after running a personal best time of 3:56.07.

The race’s start was marked by the most cavalier of acts as the Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay, determined to end her Olympics campaign on a high by winning her country’s first ever gold medal in the event, quickly made a move to the front to lead the race for the first two laps, doing so a her a high pace that saw her complete the first 400 metres with a time of 59.3s before crossing the 800-metre mark with a time of 2:03.3.

It was a risky move by Tsegay considering that the final was seventh race in seven days after having competed in: the heats and finals of the women’s 5 000 metres; the Round One heats and the semifinal heats of the women’s 1 500 metres; and, the final of the women’s 10 000 metres on Friday night.

In the end, her desperation to make amends after falling short in the other two events she competed in, turned out to be a suicide mission, as she faded horribly in the third lap, almost reducing her steps to a walking pace as she time 3:09.6 at the bell before finishing last in 12^th place with a time of 4:01.27.

As Tsegay burnt herself, Kipyegon ran a tactical race, all staying within reach of the runaway Ethiopian as she finished the first 400 metres with a time of 59.8s before clocking 2:03.5 after 800 metres.

As this while, Kipyegon was kept company by the Australian Hull, the American Elle St. Pierre, and Tsegay’s compatriot Diribe Welteji. Ejore stayed behind the group of the leading five athletes and maintained that position throughout the race on her way to finishing sixth.

It was after the bell that Kipyegon progressively injected pace into the race while teasing a challenge from the other athletes in a bid to test the limits of their finishing power. With no serious challenge being mounted, Kipyegon sprinted away, shuffling her legs fast as she increased the distance between her and the chasing pack.

It was a sight to behold as Kipyegon propelled her body forward with graceful movements of a thrilled baby gazelle skipping in the morning savannah sunshine, and as the clock ticked, with her pace increasing it became inevitable that her third gold medal in the women’s 1 500 metres at the Olympic Games would be achieved with her breaking the competition record she set when she won the race’s final at Tokyo 2020 three years ago.

As Kipyegon set a new Olympic record in the event, the race’s fast pace also saw, in addition to Bell and Ejore, four other athletes running personal best times.

Welteji's time of 3:52.75 was better than any of her previous times in the event and it earned her fourth place.

Laura Muir of Great Britain, who won silver in the event at Tokyo 2020, finished fifth as she improved her personal best time to 3:53.37.

The other athletes to run personal best times in the race were Klaudia Kazimierska of Poland (10^th, 4:00.12) and the Spaniard Agueda Marques (11^th, 4:00.31).

The other athletes in the race were Nikki Hiltz of the USA (7^th, 3:56.38), her compatriot Elle St. Pierre (3:57.52), and France’s Agathe Guillemot (3:59.08).