TOKYO2025: Kipyegon becomes most successful Kenyan at World Championships with latest gold
.jpg)
.jpg)
Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 16.09.25. | 16:42
Kipyegon’s victory also placed her alongside El Guerrouj as the only athletes to have won four world titles in the 1500m
Triple Olympic and now five-time World champion Faith Kipyegon once again proved her invincibility on the track after storming to victory in the women’s 1500m final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, 16 September.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for more news
Kipyegon crossed the line in a commanding 3:52.15, securing her fourth 1500m world title and equalling Moroccan legend Hicham El Guerrouj’s record haul in the event.
The 31-year-old, however, has five world titles after winning the 5000m back in 2023 and will be in contention to add a sixth when she lines up in the same distance on Saturday, 20 September.
The gold also means that Kipyegon is the most successful Kenyan athlete at the World Championships with five golds and two silver medals, surpassing Ezekiel Kemboi, who claimed four golds and three silvers.
The 1500m race, billed as one of the highlights of the championships, unfolded with a sense of inevitability.
From the gun, Kipyegon surged to the front, dictating the tempo in the opening 500m. Australia’s Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull slotted into second, while Kenya’s Nelly Chepchirchir initially held third.
By the 600m mark, USA’s Sinclaire Johnson briefly broke into the top four, but the rhythm of the race soon swung into Kenya’s favour.
With two and a half laps to go, Kipyegon remained unshaken at the front, accompanied closely by her compatriots.
Dorcus Ewoi began to make her presence felt, climbing into fourth as Johnson faded. At the halfway point, Kenya occupied three of the top four spots, with only Hull breaking up what looked destined to be a podium sweep.
The bell signalled the inevitable. Kipyegon unleashed her trademark finishing kick, gliding away from the field with effortless grace to cement her place in history.
Ewoi followed bravely, clocking a personal best of 3:54.92 for silver, while Hull’s strong close denied Kenya a clean sweep as she claimed bronze in 3:55.16.
Chepchirchir finished fourth in a personal best of 3:55.25, narrowly missing out on the podium.
Kipyegon’s victory placed her alongside El Guerrouj as the only athletes to have won four world titles in the 1500m.
The Moroccan, whose legendary career was defined by his unbroken 3:26.00 world record and Olympic double in Athens, now shares his golden tally with the Kenyan queen.
El Guerrouj’s dominance defined the 1500m in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
His 3:26.00 world record, set in 1998, still stands. He collected five world titles in total: two outdoor and three indoor, and famously achieved a historic double at the 2004 Athens Olympics, winning both the 1500m and 5000m.
Beyond records and medals, El Guerrouj’s career was marked by tactical brilliance and consistency, winning 51 of 54 races between 1996 and 2000.
