Returning to the scene of her record-breaking mark over 5000m last year, Faith Kipyegon broke her own world 1500m record at the Meeting de Paris, clocking 3:49.04 in the final race of the Wanda Diamond League meeting in the French capital on Sunday.
Kipyegon’s performance came less than an hour after Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh had broken the world high jump record with 2.10m.
The early pace was swift, with Kipyegon covering 800m in 2:04 as Australia’s Jess Hull positioned herself just a stride behind the multiple world and Olympic champion.
With the pacemakers having dropped out, Kipyegon covered the third lap in 60.8 seconds and continued to increase her pace.
She kicked at the bell and opened up a gap over Hull, striding clear to win in 3:49.04, taking 0.07 off the world record she set last year in Florence.
Hull finished second in 3:50.83, smashing her own Oceanian record to move to fifth on the world all-time list. Laura Muir was third in a British record of 3:53.79.
“I knew the world record was possible because I recently ran very fast in Kenya, said Kipyegon, who clocked 3:53.98 at Kenyan Olympic Trials.”
“It feels amazing to break the world record. I am in the right direction towards the Paris Olympics. I have come from far because of the injury and recovering.
“After the trials I knew that I was in world record shape, I have run the quickest time in Kenya with the altitude. It showed me that I was capable of breaking the world record again. We just tried, because everything is possible.”
In other events, Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati won a men’s 800m of historic depth, leading three men under 1:42 whilst Ethiopia’s Abrham Sime held off Kenya’s Amos Serem to win the steeplechase by two thousandths of a second, both men recording PBs of 8:02.36.
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World Athletics (formerly the International Association of Athletics Federations - IAAF) is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, such as running, jumping and throwing.
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