Olympic champ Kipyegon wants world record
Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon is determined to break the world record even after she failed in her bid to break the 1,000m record, during the Brussels Diamond League on Friday night.
Kipyegon had to settle for another near miss as she attempted to beat the world 1,000m record of 2:28.98 set on the same track in 1996 by Russia’s double Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova after crossing the line at two minutes, 29.92 seconds.
Having finished just 17 hundredth of a second short at last month’s opening Diamond League meeting in Monaco, Kipyegon seemed on track to achieve her ambition with 200 metres remaining, but faltered slightly over the final few metres to cross the line in 2:29.92.
“I’m happy with the win, the record didn’t come out as we had planned but I’m satisfied with my general performance, now I will concentrate on the next competition, the Ostrava meeting,” Kipyegon told Xinhua on Saturday.
The Kenyan now will return to her 1,500m specialty against Dibaba with hope of continuing her perfect start to Diamond League series at the Ostrava Golden Spike (Czech Republic) on Tuesday.
‘’My target now is to break the world record before the Olympics and I know I can break that world 1,000m,’’ Kipyegon told People Sport after the Brussels meet.
The 26-year-old mother of one first represented Kenya at 2010 Word Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, at age 16 and has collected 11 gold and three silver individuals medals.
The runner, who is also the current world 1,500m silver medallist, trains with elite long-distance runners Eliud Kipchoge and Geoffrey Kamworor at the Global Communication Camp in Kaptagat in the outskirts of Eldoret under the guidance of Patrick Sang and Richard Metto.
“I have a collection of medals, from cross country, the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, world championships, Africa championships but I’m yet to break a world record and I know it is possible,” said Kipyegon.
“Training with stars such as Eliud and Kamworor has made me work even harder and I want to be like them, they motivate me a lot and that is why I’m going for the record,” she added.
Kipyegon won silver in Doha in a time of 3:54.22, more than two seconds behind Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.
Kipyegon harbours no illusions about the tough competition she will face in her attempt to retain her Olympic crown.
“I just pray to God to give me strength and to have a fighting spirit in Tokyo because I know it will be a strong race there,” she said.
Kipyegon is especially wary of the threat posed by Hassan, who won the 1,500-10,000 meters double at the worlds.
