If you didn’t know Faith Kipyegon before 2023, then now you certainly know her. She’s been hitting global headlines for breaking records at major athletic competitions. Even though her career puts her in the spotlight, a lot of details about her personal life remain unknown.
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In this blog post, we give you details about Faith Kipyegon.
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Faith Kipyegon’s Early Life
Her full name is Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon. She was born on 10 January 1994 in Bomet, Kenya. She’s one of nine children, some of who also race. Her elder sister Beatrice Mutai is relatively known and has represented the country in a number of competitions.
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Faith Kipyegon’s Career
Faith Kipyegon began running when she was in school. A sponsorship deal by Global Communications allowed her to immerse herself in athletics fully. The year 2010, she debuted at the World Cross Country Championships where she finished fourth.
In the same year, Kipyegon competed in the 1,500m and completed in third. In the remainder of her junior career, she added six gold medals.
When Faith Kipyegon stepped up to the senior field, she started on a high. From winning the African Cross Country Championship, World Relays, Commonwealth Games, Olympics, Africa and World Championships.
In between her success streak, she took a maternity break in 2018 and gave birth to her daughter Alyn. As she explained in an interview on Kenyan television, pregnancy isn’t the end of the world.
“It wasn’t easy but it’s something that brings me joy. It makes me want to work hard for a better future. Also, it shows that taking a maternity break isn’t the end of the world. You can still come back and do even better.”
True to her words, post her maternity, Faith produced an outstanding performance. In 2019, she came second in the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, at a time of 3.54.22 and set a national record.
In 2021, she added another Olympic Gold medal and set an Olympic record, having clocked 3.53.11. On being a double Olympic medalist, Faith described it as “something special.”
In 2022, she was the World Championship gold medalist in Eugene, Oregon.
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Faith Kipyegon’s World Records
Faith has been competing at the elite level for more than a decade. Her most prolific season is the 2023 campaign. So far, she’s broken three records in a space of two months.
At Florence. She completed the race in 3.49.11, shaving off 96 seconds from Genzebe Dibaba’s record of 3:50.07.
At the Paris Diamond League, Kipyegon clocked 14.05.20 seconds and took off a second and a half from Letesenbet Gidey’s record of 14.06.62.
At the Monaco Diamond League, Kipyegon ran 4.7.64 and smashed Sifa Hassan’s mark of 4.12.33.
How did she manage to shatter these records?
“I knew everything was possible. I was not going into it for the world 1,500-meter record, but it was still in my mind that I would do my best,” She told Outside.
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What Next For Faith Kipyegon?
Ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Kipyegon’s intentions are clear. Speaking to Olympics.com, the 1,500m queen said she’s now focusing on creating her athletics legacy.
“It’s the legacy, that’s what I am working on now. I have the world records, but I have to break barriers and leave the legacy over the distance,” Kipyegon said.
Faith Kipyegon’s Relationships
The middle-distance runner is married to Timothy Kitum who’s also an elite athlete. That said, she maintains a low profile hence, we don’t have a lot of details about the timeline of their relationship. She has a daughter named Alyn Chepkor Kiprono, born in 2018.
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Faith Kipyegon’s Net Worth
Faith Kipyegon’s net worth is estimated to be between $1 million to $8 million. She’s made the most of it from her career as a middle-distance runner.
Faith Kipyegon continues to set the pace for middle-distance runners. It’ll be interesting to see what she’ll do at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
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