Record breaking Faith Kipyegon dedicates historic feat to all mothers in emotional message

Friday 2 June will forever be edged in Kenyans, and by extension the athletics world, as a historical day as the world witnessed the first woman to run the mile in under 3:50 minutes.

Faith Kipyegon headed to Florence Diamond league as the favourite, having dominated the distance in the last four years or so. She was already on a pedestal none of her competitors on the nigh was expected to threaten.

However, something was missing! Kipyegon was already a two-time Olympic champion, two-time World champion, World Junior, World Youth, World Cross Country, World Relay, Commonwealth Games champion, a Diamond League winner but the world record had been elusive.

Faith Kipyegon smashes 1500m world record

Kipyegon had come agonizingly close on a number of occasions but it was evident from the gun in Florence that we were in for something special.

The 29-year-old mother of one delivered a sensational performance to break the 1500m world record clocking 3:49.11. she was all alone at the front with a third of the race to g, the pacing lights her only companion and motivation.

The lights were showing Genzebe Dibaba's world record of 3:50.07 from 2015 and even when the commentator thought the Kenyan was tiring and slowing down after the bell, she proved them wrong and kept pushing.

She started pulling away from the lights on the home turn, running the final 400m in 58.81 to clock 3:49.11, capping a fine night of athletics at the third Diamond League.

“I am really thankful, today was a wonderful day in which everything came together. The world record was in my mind since last year, but I wanted to approach it slowly by slowly to see what was possible this year. I can’t believe it!

Now I have achieved what I wanted and what was in my heart and in my mind. All the athletes waiting for me at the finish line made me emotional. Thanks so much for all the support, it means a lot,” she wrote on her socials after the race.

In her post-race interviews where she repeated her thought of having not set out to break the record in Florence, Kipyegon touched on the subject of motherhood, dedicating her record to all mothers.

“This is an amazing message. I dedicate this world record to all mothers. They should know that anything is possible. I told them already that going out for maternity leave and coming back they will be stronger than before and this is what I have shown them,” an elated Kipyegon said.

Following the birth of her first daughter, Alyn in 2018, she took a 21-month break before returning to the sport. At Tokyo Olympics, she joined Australia's Shirley Strickland and Cameroonian triple-jumper Francoise Mbango Etone in achieving the rare feat of retaining an Olympic title after becoming a mother in-between Games.