As if two Olympic victories in a single discipline wasn’t enough, Faith Kipyegon of Kenya has now won her third straight Olympic gold medal in the 1500m – asserting her ownership of the distance.
Having cruised through her first round and semi-final with apparent ease, Kipyegon emptied the tank during the 1500m final (10 August) to claim a decisive win on the finishing straight, cementing herself as the first woman in history to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the event. Having conquered the race in a blistering time of 3:51.29, she also broke her own Olympic record of 3:53.11, set three years ago in Tokyo.
Australia’s Jessica Hull took silver in 3:52.56, giving her nation its first-ever Olympic 1500m medal. Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Georgia Bell stormed to bronze in a new PB of 3:52.61, which doubled as a national record. Despite being a promising junior athlete, Bell gave up competitive running altogether during adulthood, only returning to – and rekindling her love for – the sport during the pandemic. And the result? A meteoric rise that has seen her win, in 2024 alone, a 1500m silver at the European Athletics Championships, gold at the UK Athletics Championships and now bronze at the Olympic Games.
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Fellow Brit Laura Muir, who also competed in the 1500m final, finished less than a second behind Bell in 3:53.37 – another PB that saw her claim sixth position among a stacked field.
Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay set a rapid pace for the early stages of the race, covering the first lap in just 59.3 seconds. Kipyegon tucked behind her in second until the 1000m mark, at which point she moved to the front and chose not to look back. Determined to complete the three-peat, Kipyegon ticked off the final lap in 59.2 seconds, leaving most of her competitors far behind as she accelerated harder to seal the deal at the finish line.
The 2024 Games in Paris mark the fourth Olympic appearance for 30-year-old Kipyegon, who competed at the 2012 Games in London as a junior. Reflecting on her London debut shortly before heading to Paris, she said that it ‘taught me that you have to be patient, train hard and believe in yourself.’
And this patience, commitment and self-belief certainly paid off. She won her first gold in Rio in 2016 before taking a break to have a daughter, Alyn, in 2018. ‘She’s looking and wishing me all the best,’ said Kipyegon after the semi-final in Paris. ‘I will try my best to make my daughter and my family proud.’
This year’s competition has already been a drama-filled occasion for Kipyegon. In the 5000m final (5 August), she was out-kicked by her compatriot Beatrice Chebet to finish second – only to then get disqualified shortly after for making physical contact with Tsegay during the race. But, following Kipyegon’s appeal, the disqualification was quickly revoked and she was reinstated to her silver medal position. However, she did carry a disciplinary yellow card for the remainder of the Games.
According to Kipyegon after her first round of the 1500m, the back-and-forth of the 5000m took its emotional toll. However, the Kenyan aimed to put it behind her and focus on one race at a time – an approach that helped her to claim historic 1500m victory on the night.
