Faith Kipyegon curled up on the track and covered herself with the Kenyan flag just to take a moment to absorb what she’d just done – that is, defend her Olympic title in the 1500m. In doing so the mother-of-one had recorded a new Olympic record of 3:53.11.
On winning two consecutive gold medals at Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016, Kipyegon said, “I am so happy. It was something I didn’t really expect and I made it thank god. I am really happy.
“It was a really fast race, I knew it will be going until the last lap. They are all strong. But I am so happy to have set the Olympic record.”
Great Britain’s Laura Muir wins her first major international outdoor medal, passing the Dutch athlete, Sifan Hassan on the final lap, crossing the finish line in a British record time of 3:54.50.
“I’ve never been so scared that someone would come past me,” said Muir after the race, having come in a plethora of fourth, fifth and sixth places in international races to this point. “I’ve worked so hard for so long.
“I’ve been so nervous all week – why is the 1,500 at the end?”
Hassan, who changed tactics to take out the race at a fast pace right from the start, was aiming to claim the top step as part of her distance golden treble attempt. She has already won the 5,000m gold and still has the 10,000m to come tomorrow, so is still on course for a distance medal treble.
Credit: Olympics.com
