TOKYO 2025: Faith Kipyegon leads Kenyan treble into women’s 1500m final
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 14.09.25. | 15:45
Kenya will now have three athletes in the final, raising hopes of a potential 1-2-3 podium sweep
Kenya’s quest for medals in the women’s 1500m at the 2025 World Athletics Championships grew brighter on Sunday, 14 September, after Faith Kipyegon produced a commanding performance to lead three Kenyans into the final.
The two-time Olympic champion showed her class once again, timing her effort to perfection to cross the line in 4:00.34.
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She was followed closely by teammate Dorcus Ewoi, who clocked 4:00.65 in the same semifinal, while Nelly Chepchirchir stormed to victory in the second heat in 4:05.86.
Kenya will now have three athletes in the final, raising hopes of a potential 1-2-3 podium sweep.
The only disappointment came from Susan Ejore, who faded late to eighth in her heat and missed out on a qualifying place.
Kipyegon began her semifinal cautiously, sitting at the back through the opening stages.
By the end of the first lap, however, she had surged to the front, dictating the tempo against Australia’s Jessica Hull and America’s Sinclaire Johnson.
Ewoi, running wide for much of the race, tucked in just behind before making her decisive move.
At the bell, Ewoi broke from the group alongside her mentor Kipyegon, and the Kenyan duo opened a gap that the chasing pack, led by Ethiopia’s Lemlem Hailu, could not close.
The two crossed almost together, Kipyegon smiling and embracing Ewoi after sealing Kenya’s dominance in the heat.
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In the second semifinal, Chepchirchir carried the torch in style.
After a patient run tucked behind Hull and American Nikki Hiltz, she launched a searing final kick in the last 60 metres to win her race convincingly.
Hull followed in 4:06.87, with Hiltz third in 4:07.04.
Ejore, meanwhile, had started brightly from the inside rail and was well-placed early, but she struggled to maintain the pace in the final lap and eventually slipped back, ending Kenya’s hopes of fielding four finalists.
With Kipyegon, Ewoi, and Chepchirchir all advancing, Kenya’s golden trio will line up in the final with high hopes of sweeping the medals, a feat that would mark another historic chapter in the nation’s proud middle-distance tradition.
