Kipyegon won the world championship 1,500m . for the third time
The final on August 22 featured stars such as world and Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, Olympic silver medalist Laura Muir alongside some rising Ethiopian talents Diribe Welteji and Birke Haylom.
In the previous four world athletics tournaments, Kipyegon won the 2017 London gold medal, Eugene 2022 and the Beijing 2015 silver medal, Doha 2019. She also won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2021, Rio 2016, Diamond League 2017, 2021, 2022 and Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2014.
Yesterday, Kipyegon ran the opening lap in 65 seconds 14, closely followed by Welteji, Muir and Ciara Mageean of Ireland, while Hassan continued to apply his stealth strategy with the last place. Kipyegon ran the next lap in 66 seconds 64 with subsequent positions almost unchanged.
The foot runner Kenya then accelerated and ran the next lap with 60 seconds 63. This achievement was not enough for her to chase the chasing group, but it was enough to warm up the final night.
When the bell rang, Kipyegon unleashed his strength and fiercely competed with Welteji about 200m ahead of the finish line. Meanwhile, Hassan has risen to third place, edging out Mageean, Muir and Nelly Chepchirchir of Kenya. Kipyegon maintained the lead to successfully defend the title.
"This has been my great season, breaking world records and becoming world champion, successfully defending my title in Budapest," Kipyegon said. "I told myself I was the strongest and had to keep going. Today, I'm chasing titles and chasing history."
Welteji finished second with 3 minutes 55 seconds 69, and the bronze medal went to Hassan with 3 minutes 56 seconds. Mageean finished fourth with the Irish record - 3 minutes 56 seconds 61, while 20-year-old runner Chepchirchir - who impressed in qualifying and semi-finals - achieved personal best (PB) with 3 minutes 57 seconds. 90. The next three athletes - Muir, Jess Hull of Australia and Katie Snowden of England - all finished the 1,500m distance four minutes before.
In particular, Hassan continued to miss the gold medal after the 10,000m content - where she fell while leading and only finished 11th out of 22 athletes in the final. The Dutch runner revealed that she only stopped training for the marathon until a few weeks before Budapest 2023, having difficulty regaining top speed and considering the 1,500m bronze medal as a special achievement.
Today, Hassan attended the 5,000m qualifying round with the ambition to reach the final on August 25. Five weeks after Budapest 2023, Hassan will continue to compete in the Chicago Marathon on October 8. Here, the Ethiopian Dutch runner will face many elites such as American marathon recordist Emily Sisson or Ruth Chepngeich - Kenyan runner aiming for a third consecutive Chicago Marathon title.
