Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon won a historic third world 1500m gold in Budapest on Tuesday. Kipyegon produced an imperious front-running performance to add to her 2017 and 2022 titles, her face creasing in joy as realisation of her feat struck home. Sifan Hassan never landed a punch and once again, as at the Tokyo Olympics, had to make do with bronze. Ethiopian Diribe Welteji took silver.
For Kipyegon, 29, it crowned an annus mirabilis having already broken three world records. “I told myself, ‘You are the strongest and just keep going’,” said Kipyegon. “I was chasing history today and I was chasing this title. I have done it.”
She kicked at the bell for the final lap to outstrip a loaded field to win in 3min 54.87sec. “This is a great season for me,” the Kenyan admitted. “To break the world records and become a world champion here, to defend my title.”
Kipyegon is hailed as the world’s best-ever runner over 1500m and it is easy to see why. She remains unbeaten over the distance since June 2021. On that occasion at the Florence Diamond League meet she was beaten by Hassan.
The bronze for Hassan capped a brave comeback after a dramatic fall metres from the finish of the 10,000m which put paid to her bid for a treble.
There was a repeat victory in the men’s steeplechase. Morocco’s Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali left Ethiopia’s world record holder Lamecha Girma trailing as the 27-year-old champion crossed the line in 8min 03.53sec. Kipyegon, Tamberi and El Bakkali then all celebrated by jumping into the steeplechase water jump, something to be envied by the spectators who sat in sweltering heat throughout the evening.
Another Olympic champion, American Valarie Allman, looked downcast as her less celebrated teammate Laulauga Tausaga improved her personal best by more than four metres to win with 69.49m. Allman improved from her bronze last year to silver but the look on her face suggested it was little consolation. “I don’t know if I have a fairy godmother or something, or my ancestors had some say in it, but I was able to do something tonight that I didn’t think was possible yet,” said Tausaga.
Femke Bol looks in the form to replace the absent Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as 400m hurdles world champion, sauntering through to tomorrow’s final. A victory would see the 23-year-old Dutch hurdler complete a full set of medals having taken Olympic bronze and world silver last year.
The final, though, will be missing 2016 Olympic and 2019 world champion Dalilah Mohamed, who finished third behind Bol and failed to go through as one of the two fastest losers. “In the last 100 metres I gave it my all but I knew it wasn’t going to be enough,” said Mohamed. “It hasn’t really hit me yet that I won’t make the final but it was all a bit of a Hail Mary to be honest,” added the 33-year-old.
A similar fate befell another former world champion, Steven Gardiner, in the 400m, the 27-year-old Olympic gold medallist crashing to the track and eventually escorted off in a wheelchair. Gardiner’s predecessor as Olympic champion, Wayde Van Niekerk, only just scraped into the final as one of the two fastest losers.
Van Niekerk said he was disappointed by his performance but his thoughts were with Gardiner as he knows how tough it is to cope with injury having suffered a serious one himself.