Faith Kipyegon maintains to attack 1500m World Record in Florence

ATHLETICS Faith Kipyegon maintains to attack 1500m World Record in Florence

Abigael Wafula 06:30 - 02.06.2023

She opened her track season at the Diamond League Meeting in Doha, Qatar where she won in 3:58.57, a world lead.

Two-time world and Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon still has her mind set on the 1500m world record as she takes on a stellar cast at the Golden, a Diamond League Meeting in Florence, Italy on Friday, June 2.

The 29-year-old revealed that if all conditions allow, she might attempt to go for the record set by Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba in 2015 during the Diamond League Meeting in Monaco.

The record currently stands at 3:50.07 and Kipyegon is the only woman who has gotten close to it after running a brilliant 3:50.37 to win the 2022 Diamond League Meeting in Monaco.

“Everything is possible and I’m looking forward to running a good race tomorrow. If the record will be on my mind, then I hope this year will be perfect for me to go for it,” she said.

She returns to Florence after finishing second in 2021 behind Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan. At the time, she clocked 3:53.91 to cross the finish line and she will be looking to improve on that.

She opened her track season at the Diamond League Meeting in Doha, Qatar where she won in 3:58.57, a world lead.

“I am happy to be here once again and I am hoping to improve on the time I posted in Doha,” she said.

She is also aware of the tough competition that awaits her but she is ready for the challenge. Her closest challenger will be Scotland’s Laura Muir, the European champion for two consecutive editions.

Muir is also the reigning Olympic silver and world bronze medallist and a British record holder in 3:54.50.

This season, she has already won the European indoor championship and she is expected to make her seasonal debut outdoors in Florence. The opposition will also come from the Canadian record holder Gabriela DeBues-Stafford and the Australian Jessica Hull (competing with compatriots Linden Hall and Abbey Caldwell).

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