Kenya's 1500m gem Faith Kipyegon will be back in action as early as Saturday, June 5, in what will be her first major event since attempting to run a mile in under four minutes.
Kipyegon will be looking to bounce back quickly from her near miss on Thursday, June 26, as she gears up to take part in the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
This race will be particularly interesting since Kipyegon will have the chance to beat her own record in the 1500m. Notably, the triple Olympic champion has not lost a 1500m race in four years.
While Kipyegon is a heavy favourite to win in Oregon, the 1500m race will feature a stacked lineup including Olympic medalists like Jessiaca Hull, Diribe Welteji, and Georgia Hunter Bell.
The mother of one's world-leading time 3:49.04, is, however, still the one to beat.
Besides the Oregon race, Kipyegon's focus will largely be at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, scheduled for September. With four world titles already to her name, a fifth one would certainly cement her place as arguably the best 1500 runner in women's history.
Kipyegon is no stranger to the Prefontaine Classic, as she has already won six titles. The race on July 5 will be her stab at a seventh attempt at an all-too-familiar race.
In the Breaking4 project, Kipyegon fell just short of glory as she ran a mile in a time of 4:06.42 in front of thousands of fans in Paris.
While her time was an unofficial season's best, the 31-year-old retained her optimism that a woman would eventually achieve the feat, which was a few years ago considered impossible.
“I tried to be the first woman to run under four minutes. It’s only a matter of time before it happens – if not me, then maybe someone else. I will not lose hope; I will still go for it," Kipyegon said on Thursday after the race.
It remains to be seem how long the 1500m champions will keep going in middle distance races, especially because she recently hinted at shifting to longer races in the twilight years of her career.
Regarded as one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time, Kipyegon's legacy particularly in the 1500-metre races has already been sealed, with the 2024 season being her best yet on the tracks.
Not only did she secure her third consecutive Olympic 1500m gold in 3:51:29 at the Paris Olympics, Kipyegon also tested her mettle in the longer 5,000m event, where she remarkably won silver in 14:29.60.
