Chepngetich hopes to make history at Oregon meet

Reigning Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Chengétich Kipyegon longs to make history at the 18th World Athletics Championships that get underway at Hayward Field inside University of Oregon, Eugene, in USA next Friday.

Kipyegon, the only Kenyan woman to have won 1,500m gold at the World Championships, wants to become the first two-time Olympic and two-time world champion.

She will marshal forces with Africa 1500m champion Winnie Chebet, Olympian Edinah Jebitok and Judy Kiyeng, the younger sister of 2015 world 3,000m steeplechase champion Hyvin Kiyeng.

They will be up against Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan who will compete in 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m at the biennual showpiece.

But Kipyegon, who lost to Ethiopia’s Sifan Hassan at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, said she’s in great shape.

“To say the truth is that my shape is in the right direction. I ran 3:52 in Oregon (Diamond League) and that motivates me a lot. I just tell Kenyans to expect some good performances in Oregon and, of course, the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Kipyegon, 28, won the Olympic 1500m title in Tokyo, becoming only the third woman to retain her title after becoming a mother in-between the Games. She won the World Athletics Diamond League trophy and set the national 1500m record last year.

She enjoyed a near-perfect 2021 season in 1500m in what excited athletics fans, given she overcame a strong challenge from Sifan Hassan

She suffered her only defeat last year when she lost to Hassan at the Diamond League meeting in Florence, Italy.