A remarkable  women’s 1500 and three for Kipyegon

The Women’s 1,500 meters was one of the finest races of the entire Olympics. The story was not just about the battle for the silver and bronze medals, which went down to the very final steps. It was also about the significant achievement of Faith Kipyegon’s third Olympic title, a testament to her skill and determination

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Stuart Weir wrote 26 stories and 16,000 words for RunBlogRun during the Paris Olympics. 

This is his final story.

A remarkable  women’s 1500 and three for Kipyegon

The women’s 1500m final was quick to the extent that 3:53.3 only got you fifth place, and the top nine went under 4 minutes.  Six of the 12 athletes ran a PB.  That Faith Kipyegon won will not surprise anyone, nor was her time of 3:51.29  Olympic record.  Jessica Hull’s 3:52.56 would have been an Australian record if she had not set a better one in Paris earlier this season.

The leaders went off at what seemed a suicidal pace, with Britain’s Georgia Bell going with the leading group, but Laura Muir let the leaders go and settled into running at the pace she wanted to. Then, with a lap to go, Laura started to speed up and cut the gap to the leading group.  In five weeks, Laura ran a second 4:53 PR, but it was not enough for a medal. Bell stuck with the leading group and earned herself a bronze medal and a new British record with a four-second PR.

The top  five were:

1 Faith Kipyegon 3:51.29

2 Jessica Hull 3:52.56

3 Georgia Bell 3:52.61

4 Diribe Welteji 3:52.75

5 Laura Muir 3:53.37

This was Faith Kipyegon’s third successive Olympic victory at 1500m.  A comparison of the times at the last four Olympics shows how she has transformed the event:

2012 Maryam Yusuf Jamal 4:10.74

2016 Faith Kipyegon 4:08.92

2021 Faith Kipyegon 3:53.11

2024  Faith Kipyegon 3:51.29

Laura Muir commented that she had come second in 2021, run faster in 2024, and come fifth!

Faith said of her victory: “To have come here and run today as I ran, after a traumatic 5000, it really took a lot in my mind, and I could not sleep until yesterday. I think I’m going to sleep today after this beautiful race. Running here in Paris was just amazing, also with the fans, and the crowd was just amazing. Running here and…