MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Faith Kipyegon arrives at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo as the undisputed queen of middle-distance running, and the stakes could not be higher as she attempts an audacious double.
The Kenyan superstar is set to defend her titles in both the 1,500 and 5,000 metres -- the double she accomplished in Budapest in 2023.
She will be chasing history as no athlete has raced to gold in both distance events at more than one World Championships. Bernard Lagat won
the two events at the 2007 World Championships, while Sifan Hassan won the 1,500 and 10,000m at the 2019 Championships.
"It's a mindset," the 31-year-old told reporters recently. "It's all about the mind, and also about the preparation and being patient. It's all about what you want to achieve for the next generation to look up to you."
Kipyegon's 2025 season has been nothing short of spectacular. The three-times Olympic gold medallist shattered her own 1500m world record at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, clocking a jaw-dropping three minutes 48.68 seconds.
Nine days earlier, her attempt to break the four-minute mile barrier at Nike's Breaking4 event in Paris fell short -- she clocked 4:06.42. But she showcased her relentless pursuit of excellence and was proud of the attention the attempt brought to her sport.
"My name had been out there before, with winning medals in the Olympics and at World Championships, but with Breaking4 it seems like it touched many hearts of young women," she said.
"When I was coming from Prefontaine, I got so many fans in the airport -- and many were girls -- telling me that I'm an inspiration to them and waiting for me to take pictures, and I was like, 'Wow'. Knowing that I've inspired them in so many ways through sport was absolutely amazing."
Kipyegon missed the 32-year-old 3,000m world record by less than a second last month in Silesia, Poland in a final tune-up for the Worlds.
"It's always good to dare to try," she said of that record attempt.
Her dominance, versatility, and consistency have already cemented her legacy, but Tokyo offers her a chance to elevate her status further. A victory in the 1,500 in Tokyo would be her fourth in that event at the World Championships, while a 5,000m win as well would bring her total gold-medal haul at the Worlds to six.
Kipyegon's first appearance at the World Championships was in 2013 in Moscow, where she finished fifth in the 1,500m, and she has finished no worse than second in every one since.
She said the 2019 Doha World Championships "made me who I am today", coming after the 2018 birth of her daughter Alyn by caesarean section.
"After coming back from maternal leave, winning silver and coming home with a little bit of pain, knowing that I could win silver when not having 100% of my body in the Championships made me stronger to believe in myself that I could still win many medals, break records and still go far," she said. "I came out of many challenges in Doha."
The World Championships begin on September 13.
(Reporting by Lori EwingEditing by Toby Davis)
