Faith Kipyegon Reflects on Pursuing Rare Feat That Even Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Never Achieved

Faith Kipyegon has reflected on the possibility of becoming the first athlete in history to win eight gold medals across the Olympic Games and World Championships.

The likes of Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce did not achieve that target at the time of their retirement. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has seven gold medals in the 100m to her name, in both the Olympic Games and World Championships.

In the World Championships, she has five gold medals, having secured wins in 2009, 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2022. At the Olympics, she won gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 editions.

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Usain Bolt also has seven medals in the 200m. From the World Championships, he claimed top honours in four editions, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015. At the Olympics, he won the title three times, in 2008, 2012 and 2016.

Meanwhile, Faith Kipyegon has won seven gold medals in the 1500m, from the World Championships and Olympic Games.

At the Olympic Games, Faith Kipyegon claimed top honours in 2016, the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

At the World Championships, Faith Kipyegon has four titles to her name, having claimed them in 2017, 2022, 2023 and 2025.

“Yeah. I'm so blessed because you know, winning a world championship and still dreaming of doing some championship or Olympics, it's something special, but for me, I don't know what's on the table next year,” Faith Kipyegon said in an interview with Citius Mag.

“I just want to finish the season here in New York in a beautiful way and see next year what will come up. So, I don't know what will come up in 2027, but hopefully we will see going forward. But 2027 is still far.

“We still have next year with the ultimate championship, and then after that, we will see what will happen.”

Faith Kipyegon has chosen to remain grounded despite being on the verge of a historic milestone. She insists on choosing to focus on finishing her season strongly before turning her attention to future championships that could cement her legacy as one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time.