Faith Kipyegon wins Diamond League trophy in Brussels
The Kenyan superstar rounded off a historic season in fine fashion, Kenny Bednarek got the better of Letsile Tebogo over 200m and Femke Bol secured yet another trophy
Faith Kipyegon continued her domination of the 1500m by securing an incredible fifth Diamond League trophy over the distance in Brussels (September 14).
Faith Kipyegon
The Kenyan clocked 3:54.75 in chilly conditions, breaking the meeting record of 3:55.33 from Süreyya Ayhan back in 2003.
Faith Kipyegon was once again a class apart in the 1500m and even though she was challenged by Diribe Welteji in the closing stages, victory never looked in doubt.
As she crossed the line, the Kenyan’s face beamed with joy as she lifted up her hand to the camera to signal ‘five’.
“The world record was not on my mind today,” said Kipyegon. “My goal was to finish my Diamond League season in a good way and I did. It was a good race, but definitely not an easy one. It was a bit cold to run 61 seconds in the first lap and 62 seconds for the next lap.”
The 30-year-old will now round off her 2024 campaign at the ATHLOS meet in New York City (September 26).
“I tried to be myself and focus on the finish line,” she added. “Hopefully I will finish my season in New York in a good way. It will be my last race of the season. I am still looking forward to the race. I started my season very late because of a small problem and I still feel strong.”
Elsewhere in the 1500m, Georgia Bell was seventh in 3:58.95 and Melissa Courtney-Bryant ninth in 3:59.75.
Femke Bol (Getty)
Femke Bol also continued her domination in the Diamond League and claimed her fourth consecutive trophy.
She clocked 52.45 and extended her unbeaten run over the 400m hurdles in the competition to a staggering 24 races.
Bol missed the Zurich Diamond League with illness and revealed that she wasn’t sure she’d compete in Brussels.
“It was a really long season and it was a sign of my body that I needed some rest,” said Bol. “However, running in Brussels feels like running in front of my home crowd and I didn’t want to miss that. Brussels is always such a fantastic experience. Now I am looking forward to a two-week holiday in Sicily.”
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone backed up her 400m win by triumphing in the 200m in the Belgian capital and Bol was asked if she would’ve hypothetically preferred to race the American over the hurdles.
“I’m really happy that Sydney was here to run, even though it was in some side events,” Bol added. “I would have preferred running against her in the 400m hurdles because she’s such an amazing athlete and I can learn so much from her. Maybe the races in Brussels convinced her now to run more Diamond Leagues next season. It would be great to race against her.”
Letsile Tebogo and Kenny Bednarek (Getty)
Kenny Bednarek ended Letsile Tebogo’s unbeaten run since the Olympics after taking the plaudits in the 200m.
The American, who recently went joint-eighth on the 200m all-time list with Justin Gatlin, was one tenth off his personal best and ran 19.67 (0.7) to Tebogo’s 19.80.
Bednarek finished behind Tebogo in Paris and will no doubt be a threat to the Botswana athlete going into next season.
“I got the silver medal in Paris,” said Bednarek. “I had a few wins during the season and also a few losses. Being able to end the season with a victory in the Diamond League final gives me a lot of confidence for next year.
“I think execution-wise I did what I needed to do and I’m happy with the performance. This year I shocked a few people with how fast I was running. I knew that I had it in me, but the last couple of seasons I had some injuries here and there. This season people saw a glimpse of what I can do. It’s not a breakout year because this is something that I was supposed to be doing. Next year I will even be faster and more dangerous.”
Leonardo Fabbri (Getty)
One of the standout performances of the Diamond League final came from Leonardo Fabbri in the shot put.
The Italian, who became European champion in his home country back in June, threw a best of 22.98m in Brussels to take the victory.
Not only was it a meeting and national record but Fabbri also beat triple Olympic champion Ryan Crouser in the process.
Fabbri remains fifth on the shot put all-time list but he is now quite literally inches away from that 23.00m mark.
Only Crouser, Joe Kovacs, Randy Barnes and Ulf Timmermann have thrown further than Fabbri in history.
Faith Kipyegon Personal life and coach
Faith Kipyegon is married to Olympic 800 m bronze winner Timothy Kitum, a middle-distance runner from 2012. In June 2018, their daughter Alyn was born.
Since the end of 2017, Patrick Sang, a triple global 3000 m steeplechase silver medallist who also coaches marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge, has been her coach in Kaptagat (and Kapsabet).
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