Keep the Faith? Kipyegon on breaking world records and Kenya's anti-doping battle

Ciara Mageean will challenge the double Olympic champion in Budapest this month.

Fri, 04 Aug, 2023 - 20:40

Cathal Dennehy

They say that to win Olympic gold, you have to beat everyone who shows up on the day. To set a world record, you have to beat everyone who’s ever shown up. Faith Kipyegon has no need to argue which of those is the bigger achievement, given she’s done both multiple times.

The 29-year-old Kenyan is a two-time Olympic champion and double world champion over 1500m, and this summer, she’s gone on a world record rampage, setting the fastest female times in history over 1500m (3:49.11), 5000m (14:05.20) and the mile (4:07.64).

Alone she stands, not just in this but in any era. Still, you can’t run that fast in this sport without inviting some scepticism and, these days, the idea that Kenyan success was driven only by natural talent, hard work and heaps of ugali has been firmly eviscerated. There are currently 63 Kenyans serving doping bans, with the Kenyan government pledging €24 million over the next five years to the anti-doping fight. What does Kipyegon make of the situation?

“It’s crazy, but we try to defend our country, running clean,” she says. “When something like that happens it’s not good, but we try to clean up our country and for the federation (to) do what it takes to (compete) in a clean way. They are really trying and I hope, going forward, the government will do much better and we can clean up our country.”

Kipyegon’s progression has been devoid of the suspicious leaps that tend to signal something sinister, and she’s been a complete outlier since her teens, winning the world U-18 title in 2011 and the world U-20 title in 2012. Four years later, she rose to the summit at senior level, winning Olympic gold in Rio.

The response of her peers to her world records this summer has been notable, with Kipyegon’s rivals hoisting her in the air and joining the celebrations. It’s not always like that, the same collective joy not seen for the world records set by Genzebe Dibaba and Sifan Hassan in recent years, who were both coached by men who were later the subject of anti-doping investigations.

Ciara Mageean was among the first to congratulate Kipyegon after her mile world record in Monaco, the Portaferry native finishing second in an Irish record of 4:14.58. The respect between them is mutual, Kipyegon calling Mageean “an amazing lady.” In Budapest this month, they’ll square off at the World Championships, though these days Kipyegon’s biggest rival tends to be the clock. Mageean is very much in the conversation for silver and bronze, though, her breakthrough over the past year drawing the Kenyan’s attention.

“This year she’s really, really strong,” says Kipyegon. “She’s capable of doing amazing things in Diamond Leagues and all over the world.”

Having lowered the mile world record to 4:07, does Kipyegon believe the four-minute barrier is possible for women? “Absolutely, one day one athlete will go under four. I see it happening, either the next generation or our generation.”

Of course, athletes of this era enjoy a notable advantage over those competing even five years ago, given the development of ‘super spikes’ and Wavelight technology, which helps runners maintain a consistent pace.

“Wavelight is really perfect to help an athlete break a world record,” says Kipyegon. “Last year I was chasing the Wavelight very hard, this year I’m leaving it behind.”

She isn’t so quick to credit shoe technology for her blazing times. “It’s an improved shoe, but I don’t think the shoe is running – I’m running. I just put the shoe on, believe in myself and go and break the world record. I believe in the training; the technology comes after.”

But does Kipyegon then think she could break records doing what she did as a junior – running barefoot? “No, not at all,” she laughs. “I don’t think I could be confident breaking three world records.”

No one in athletics has done more than her to destroy the myth that motherhood is a hindrance to peak performance, Kipyegon giving birth to her daughter, Alyn, in 2018 and coming back to win world silver and set a Kenyan record in 2019. Not that it was easy. On a visit to her training base in Kaptagat two years ago, Kipyegon told me she took over a year off running due to pregnancy (four months before the birth, nine months after). She used to race at 45kg but was 63kg when starting back. She didn’t restrict her diet, taking things slow and eating “normal food – chapati, chips, everything.”

In Budapest, Kipyegon looks poised to add to her astonishing legacy with double gold in the 1500m and 5000m, proof that athletes can be stronger, and faster, than ever after pregnancy.

“The motherhood journey has made me strong,” she says. “I was so afraid, (thinking): ‘Maybe I will not come back, I will just disappear.’ Every lady, their mind goes like that. I thought it was the end of my career, but it was the beginning.”