Latest news with #FaithKipyegon
Independent Singapore
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet misses the 5000m race world record by just three seconds
Beatrice Chebet ended up running the second-fastest time ever at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, an event that is part of the Rome Diamond League. However, her time was not enough to beat the 5000m women's record, and she narrowly missed the opportunity by three seconds. The 25-year-old athlete ran a national record of 14:03.69 for the 5000m category, two weeks after she ran the second-fastest in 3000m history in Rabat as well. Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay was the athlete who set the world record in 2023, finishing with a time of 14:00.21 Still, with her impressive performance, Chebet now moves ahead of her fellow Kenyan athlete, Faith Kipyegon, who was a former world record-holder. Highlights of the race Kenyan Chebet raced against world record holder Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, together with Italy's Olympic medallist Nadia Battocletti. The race started fast, and a lead group broke away early on. When the pacemakers stepped aside, Chebet took the lead and Tsegay tried to keep up, but about four laps from the end, and nearly 10 minutes into the race, the Ethiopian athlete lost touch. See also Pritam Singh Halts MPS to Celebrate Shanti's Historic Gold Win With no one left to stay with her, Chebet's pace slowed and fell behind world record pace with two laps to go. Though the athlete finished strong, she missed the record and finished with a final time of 14:03.69. This is a new Kenyan national record as she ran faster than Faith Kipyegon's 2023 time of 14:05.20. Tsegay finished fifth, while Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu placed second with a personal best of 14:19.33. Moreover, Italy's Battocletti placed third with a record of 14:23.15. Another Ethiopian athlete, Birke Haylom, also finished ahead of Tsegay. With this, Chebet expressed: 'Today, I wanted to try and see how fast I can go when I push a lot… Soon, I am going for a time under 14 (minutes). 'I can say I also helped the others to achieve their personal bests and national records today. It helped a lot. I have to congratulate the others as well, because without them, it would not be possible to run that race.' She added, 'I just said 'Let's run my own race today.' I was planning to run 14:15, but I felt like my body was moving, and I decided to go. 'I see that my body is in good shape, and I am capable of the world record, so now I am going home and will prepare for it. Everything is possible – if I get someone who will push me up to 3000m, it is possible.' In a social media post made by World Athletics, it stated: 'What did we just witness 🤯 @ comes so close to the 5000m world record with an incredible 14:03.69 🔥' Netizens were quick to cheer Beatrice on, with many saying she's on track to break more records this year. One wrote, 'Both the 3000m and 5000m world records are coming down this year! I love watching Beatice run 👏🏾,' while another added, 'This girl is on fire 🔥 … it's your time to shine ✨️.'
Axios
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Axios
Faith Kipyegon's moonshot mile
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon is already one of the most accomplished athletes of all time, with multiple world records (in the mile and 1,500 meters) and Olympic gold medals. But she wants to take it a step further. Why it matters: Kipyegon will try to make history this summer by becoming the first woman to run a sub-four-minute mile. It's an audacious attempt to shave more than seven seconds off the 31-year-old's current record (4:07.64). But to Kipyegon, pushing boundaries is the point. "I'm a three-time Olympic champion. I've achieved World Championship titles," she said in a statement. "I thought, What else? Why not dream outside the box?" Driving the news: Nike announced the "Breaking4" partnership between the brand and its track star April 23, pledging "to create a holistic system of support that optimizes every aspect of her attempt." While Kipyegon trains in Kenya with her mentor and training partner, Olympic champ Eliud Kipchoge, a team at Nike headquarters in Oregon is crafting her armor and analyzing her scans to enhance her performance, Nike contributing writer Maisie Skidmore reports. They'll produce custom shoes and apparel fitted to Kipyegon's body and optimized for her running stride. The location choice for her attempt — the rubber track of Stade Charléty in Paris — was also strategic: It's the same place she set new world records in the 5,000-meter in 2023 and the 1,500-meter in 2024. Kipyegon will stare down the historic finish line on June 26. Zoom in: Nike said that while no woman is currently positioned to break the four-minute barrier alone, "the right partnership" could change that reality. "Alongside Faith, our innovators are breaking barriers by combining cutting-edge sports science with revolutionary footwear and apparel innovation to help her achieve a truly historic goal," says Nike CEO Elliott Hill. Between the lines: If anyone can do it, it's Kipyegon. A study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science in February found that with "greatly improved" — yet "reasonable" — aerodynamic drafting off pacesetters, Kipyegon could break the barrier. Rodger Kram, one of the authors of the February study, told the New York Times it's likely "lots of bros are going to say, 'No way a woman is ever going to run four minutes." He added, "But people have said women can't do a lot of things, and then they have." Flashback: Just within the last century, women in running have done just that, time and time again. In the early 1900s, running was considered to be "dangerous" for women, said Maggie Mertens — a journalist and author of "Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women." Even after women's Olympic track and field events made their debut in 1928, "there was this idea that there should be limitations on how far women were allowed to run," she said. When women completed the 800-meter race in the 1928 Olympics, reasonably winded and tired, sportswriters lamented the scene, with one describing it as a "pitiful spectacle," said Bonnie Morris, author of "What's the Score?: 25 Years of Teaching Women's Sports." The race was banned until it was reinstated in 1960. And it wasn't until 1984 that the women's marathon was added to the Games. Since then, women haven't stopped busting boundaries. Case in point: Kipyegon set her world records after giving birth to her daughter, coming back from her maternity leave even faster and stronger. Reality check: The gap between a 4:07.64 mile and less than four minutes can be sprawling — even for a once-in-a-generation talent. "It's a big goal to shave 8 seconds off the mile, but she feels ready," Seema Simmons, Nike's vice president of global women's running, told ESPN. "She's challenging decades of incremental progress in a very short span of time." The bottom line: The gear and the venue are important — but women have kicked down doors, whether they were wearing proper footwear or not, Morris notes. When Bobbi Gibb was training to become the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, she did so in nurses' shoes.
The Hindu
25-04-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Duplantis says not ruling out another record at Diamond League opener
Swedish superstar Armand Duplantis did not rule out another pole vault world record on the eve of his outdoor season opener, a month after the Paris 2024 champion snagged his third consecutive indoor title in China. 'I never really rule out anything,' he told reporters on the eve of the Diamond League event in the eastern city of Xiamen, adding that he hadn't checked the conditions for Saturday but felt 'really good.' The 25-year-old set the first of his three world records in 2024 at the Xiamen Egret Stadium, clearing 6.24 metres at his first attempt. He has since bettered his own mark to 6.27 metres, set at the All Star Perche in Clermont-Ferrand, France, in February after clearing 6.26 metres in Poland and 6.25 metres in Paris before a rapturous Olympic crowd. He was named the 2025 World Sportsman of the Year on Monday, an honour he shares with Tiger Woods and Usain Bolt. 'It's quite surreal,' he said. Duplantis is joined in Xiamen by a star-studded cast that includes nine other world record holders and more than 20 reigning individual champions. ALSO READ | Faith Kipyegon's sub-4 minute mile attempt: What you need to know This weekend will also see the return of 200m world champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica, who missed the chance of gold in Paris due to injury. 'I took some time to get healthy, and I'm excited,' said the 30-year-old who will compete in the 200m for the first time since last July. 'I just want to cross the line healthy,' she said. Looming clash The 15-meet Diamond League this year is up against Grand Slam Track, which debuted in Kingston this month and runs through to June. Conceived by former U.S. sprint star Michael Johnson, the four-event series aims to showcase more races between the world's best runners, sprinters and hurdlers as a way of drawing more eyes to athletics outside Olympic years. Next week's Diamond League stop in Shanghai/Suzhou conflicts with Grand Slam's second meet in Miami. Norway's Karsten Warholm, US hurdling star Grant Holloway and Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana are among the stars who have committed to back-to-back meets in China instead of Grand Slam. Also taking to the track on Saturday will be Kenya's three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon in the 1,000m, while teammate Beatrice Chebet, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, will face Ethiopia's 5,000m world record holder — and two-time world champion — Gudaf Tsegay over 5km. American sprinter Christian Coleman will also begin his outdoor season in Xiamen along with Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the Paris women's high jump champion.
The Star
24-04-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Athletics-American Muhammad in awe of Kipyegon's attempt at sub-four minute mile
Athletics - Diamond League - Brussels - King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium - September 14, 2024 Faith Kipyegon of Kenya celebrates after winning the Women's 1500m final REUTERS/Johanna Geron BENGALURU (Reuters) -Kenyan Faith Kipyegon's bid to run a sub-four minute mile has stunned 2016 400m hurdles Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad, who believes this endeavour could redefine the parameters for women in sports. Triple Olympic and world 1,500m champion Kipyegon is to attempt the first women's, unofficial sub-four minute mile in Nike's "Breaking 4" project. The 31-year-old will attempt the feat on June 26 at Stade Charlety, Paris, where she broke her own 1,500m world record last year. "I'm just amazed. I'm in awe. I saw that and I heard about it... I want to be there," said Muhammad, the International Event Ambassador for the TCS World 10K Bengaluru. "That's just honestly hard for me to even put into words what that means for women in sports... For women to even attempt it, it's just honestly crazy. "She's run, I think 4:07, which we were looking at as crazy. I'm just really, truly excited for where the bounds for women can go in the sport and to just hear a woman trying to break four minutes in my lifetime is amazing." The 35-year-old Muhammad, who earlier this month announced that she will end her career after the 2025 season, believes age should not be a barrier for athletes to achieve their goals. "For myself at 35, I feel almost better than ever. There's no slowing down. We have to do things a little bit differently, but it can get done," she said. "I think if you have the will and the drive, it's definitely possible. So, at 31, that's amazing for her (Kipyegon)." World Athletics are soon to introduce genetic testing for women to tighten eligibility rules, but Muhammad expressed concerns about the intrusive nature of the procedures and added that she needed more knowledge for an opinion. "After hearing some women's stories like Caster Semenya's, it's just how invasive some of these procedures can be and just how kind of traumatising it can be," Muhammad said. "When we talk about gender testing and what that even entails, I'm a little hesitant on it." Muhammad, who won gold in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 Rio Olympics, followed by gold (4x400m relay) and silver (400m hurdles) at the 2020 Tokyo Games, said the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo later this year will likely be her last outing. Muhammad confirmed that she has no plans of returning to the track at the 2028 Los Angeles Games and that her compatriot Alexis Holmes, a member of the 4x400m gold-medal winning team in Paris, was someone to look out for in the future in the 400m. "She's a great relay runner and I think she has the potential to push those boundaries in the sport," she added. (Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Independent Singapore
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Faith Kipyegon aims to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes
Photo: Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon, together with her sponsor Nike, has announced a bold plan to break the four-minute mile barrier for women. Kipyegon is considered the greatest female middle-distance runner ever, and she currently holds the women's mile record at 4 minutes 7.64 seconds. Beating this record would be a challenge, but with the help of her sponsor and male pacers, she may have a chance. The athlete admitted, ' I'm a three-time Olympic champion. I've achieved world championship titles. I thought, 'What else? Why not dream outside the box?' And I told myself, 'If you believe in yourself, and your team believes in you, you can do it.'' She added, 'I want this attempt to say to women, 'You can dream and make your dreams valid… This is the way to go as women, to push boundaries and dream big.'' A tough challenge Nike is calling Faith Kipyegon's attempt 'Faith Kipyegon vs the 4-Minute Mile.' Admittedly, many experts think it will be tough, but Nike is known for taking on big challenges. Back in 2017, there was a lot of doubt when Nike announced that Eliud Kipchoge, another Kenyan, would try to run a marathon in under two hours. He didn't succeed on the spot, but achieved the goal two years later as he ran 1:59:40 in Vienna. However, it didn't count as an official world record because he had 41 pacemakers helping him. Kipyegon will use similar tactics, having male pacers help her by running in front and behind her to reduce wind resistance. A recent study suggests that with this help, she could run a time of 3:59.37. Additionally, she'll have the latest shoes from the brand that would support her in achieving this feat. However, Kipyegon would really have a hard time. To run a mile in under four minutes, an athlete usually needs to be able to run 800 metres in 1:52 or 1:53, but her personal best is 1:57. With this, she still needs to shave off a lot of time, even with the best shoes and pacers. Her coach, Patrick Sang, then claimed, 'She is convinced that it's within her reach… And with the proper support coming from all the systems around her, I believe it's possible.' In a social media post, Nike Women shared the news: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nike Women (@nikewomen) Netizens cheered on the runner with messages of faith, excitement, and confidence in her success. One fan wrote, 'Her-story loading!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 you got this, FAITH!'
