Kenya tipped to retain women’s 1500m dominance despite Kipyegon's future absence

For close to a decade, Faith Kipyegon has been the gold standard of women’s 1500m running.

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Triple Olympic champion, multiple world champion, and world record holder, she has won everything there is to win over the distance.

Recently, she has also underlined her range by excelling in the 5,000m, naturally sparking questions about whether her focus may gradually shift to longer races.

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Yet even as Kipyegon explores new frontiers, Kenya’s grip on the women’s 1500m looks anything but fragile. If anything, it appears firmly secure, thanks largely to the emergence of Dorcas Ewoi and the deep reservoir of middle-distance talent the country continues to produce.

Ewoi’s recent performances have strengthened the argument that Kenya is well-positioned for life beyond Kipyegon.

She emphatically opened her indoor season, storming to victory in the women’s 1500m with a world-leading and personal best time of 4:01.22, narrowly missing the Kenyan indoor record by just 0.05 seconds. It was a statement run that confirmed her readiness to step into a leading role on the global stage.

That confidence was already evident at last year’s World Championships in Tokyo, where Ewoi claimed silver behind Kipyegon.

Far from being overawed by racing alongside one of the greatest athletes of all time, she rose to the occasion, showing tactical maturity and composure beyond her years. At 29, Ewoi is now entering her prime and delivering consistently at the highest level.

“I have so much confidence and courage now. I’m just happy training, knowing this is my job. I got the medal, and I know I can push more and get more out of myself, but I don’t really have expectations or pressure,” she told Letsrun.com.

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What makes Ewoi’s rise particularly compelling is that her journey into elite athletics was anything but conventional.

She was born into a family of nine children and initially hated running. If anything, she viewed it more as a punishment than a passion.

Even in high school, she did not consider athletics a serious pathway. During school holidays, she joined training camps mainly to escape household chores like farming and tending animals.

Unbeknownst to her, those camps would become the foundation of her transformation.

Her turning point came in late 2014 when 2012 Boston Marathon champion Wesley Korir, then serving as Member of Parliament for Cherangany, launched the Transcend Running Academy to support promising high school athletes. Ewoi finished fifth at the trials and earned a place in the inaugural class.

The scholarship changed her environment and her outlook. She transferred from Kapkarwa Secondary School, a day school, to St Francis Girls, a boarding school with better training facilities.

During holidays, Korir would host about 20 young runners at his home for intensive training blocks, exposing Ewoi to a more structured and purposeful approach to the sport.

In 2017, during her final year of high school, Ewoi stepped away from running to focus on her studies. She excelled in her KCSE exams, and shortly after receiving her results, Korir called with another opportunity.

In August 2018, she moved to the United States to study Biology at South Plains College in Texas. Though she had initially hoped to pursue nursing, limited credits delayed that dream.

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Her athletic journey in the US was not smooth. After competing in the NJCAA circuit, she transferred to Campbell University in North Carolina in 2020, where the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted training and competition.

In the NCAA championships, she recorded mixed results, including a 4:06 performance she later described as “horrible.” At her lowest moments, it was encouragement from her uncle, 1988 Olympic 800m champion Paul Ereng, that kept her going.

Upon graduating in 2023, Ewoi enrolled in the nursing course she had always wanted, but made a personal pact to give athletics one final, wholehearted attempt.

That decision proved pivotal. She linked up with coach Alistair Cragg, a former European indoor champion, and soon after was signed by Puma in 2024.

The impact was immediate as she dipped under two minutes in the 800m and, at the 2024 Holloway Pro Classic, defeated reigning Olympic champion Athing Mu, a confidence-boosting victory that announced her arrival among the elite.

Her breakthrough season culminated in a call-up to Kenya’s World Championships trials.

With Athletics Kenya selecting only two automatic qualifiers per event and reserving a third slot for discretion, Ewoi finished third behind Nelly Chepchirchir and Susan Ejore. Fate, however, intervened.

Kipyegon’s status as defending champion earned Kenya an extra slot, opening the door for Ewoi’s Tokyo debut, one of several moments where Kipyegon’s presence indirectly shaped her path to success.

Racing alongside Kipyegon changed Ewoi’s perspective. In the semi-finals, they shared the same heat, and Kipyegon was seen urging her compatriot to close gaps and push through fatigue.

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The experience was mentally draining, but with little time to recover before the final, Ewoi embraced a liberating mindset: she had nothing to lose. The result was a silver medal and a clear signal that a new force had arrived.

Beyond Ewoi, Kenya’s women’s middle-distance ranks remain rich with talent, ensuring internal competition that continually sharpens the best athletes.

Chepchirchir has already announced herself on the biggest stage, clocking a lifetime best of 3:55.25 at the Tokyo World Championships, a performance that places her firmly among the world’s elite.

Ejore, another consistent presence in global finals, boasts a personal best of 4:02.20 and continues to show steady progression. Towering above the rest, however, remains Kipyegon’s astonishing benchmark.

Her world-leading and world record time of 3:48.68, set at last year’s Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene, still stands as the gold standard in the event. In doing so, Kipyegon made history as the first woman ever to run under 3:49.