Faith Kipyegon: “It’s always good to dare to try”

Kenyan star talks about chasing history, making a move to the marathon and her hopes of more golden moments at the World Championships in Tokyo

Faith Kipyegon is not one to stand still. For the three-time Olympic 1500m champion, there is always something to aim for. Whether that be her ongoing pursuit of becoming the first woman to break four minutes for the mile or the long-term vision that will see her moving from the track to the marathon “hopefully soon”, sources of motivation are not in short supply. 

The main fuel that helps to keep the 31-year-old at the very top level, however, is a desire to inspire – not just her now seven-year-old daughter Alyn but the next generation of women – through her deeds. 

Thanks to a lengthy list of achievements Kipyegon is fully installed as one of the best, if not the best, distance runners of all time but there is an appetite for more. On August 16, she will head to the Diamond League meeting in Silesia with one eye on breaking the long-standing 3000m world record (she is already the fastest ever over 1500m and the mile). After that test, the next item on the agenda will be the World Championships in Tokyo and the defence of her 1500m and 5000m titles, while the end of a long season will come with her appearance at the second edition of the women-only Athlos meeting in New York in October. There is much to do. 

Just the sound of that itinerary would be exhausting to most mere mortals but, on a World Athletics video call with media from across the globe, the Kenyan cut a relaxed and happy figure as she spoke about the weeks ahead. 

“It’s a mindset. It’s all about the mind, and also about the preparation and being patient,” she said when asked what helps to keep her standards so high. “It’s all about what you want to achieve for the next generation to look up to you.”

Even by Kipyegon’s standards, this has already been an exceptional year. She invited the eyes of the world upon her as she undertook the hugely ambitious Nike-backed challenge of breaking the four-minute-mile in Paris at the end of June. Though not eligible to be an official record, her time of 4:06.42 was the fastest mile ever run by a woman. Coming up short of her target has not put her off from trying again, while her follow-up spoke volumes.

In her next race, at the Prefontaine Classic, the four-time world champion’s response was to break her own 1500m world record with a run of 3:48.68 and it was on that trip to Oregon…