Double Olympic Champion Faith Kipyegon is eager to reclaim her women’s 1500m title in the fourth edition of the Absa Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour Gold scheduled for Saturday at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.
The double world champion has been inspired into the race following her victory in the opening leg of the 2023 Diamond League Series in Doha, Qatar on Friday, where she set a world lead of 3:58.57.
Kipyegon destroyed a large field of international stars in the second edition of the Kip Keino Classic in 2021 but did not defend the title last season.
She jetted into the country on Sunday morning from Doha in order to acclimatise for the race. She will up her training in Ngong Hills ahead of the weekend showpiece.
“I’m very much ready to go for the honours at the Kip Keino Classic, but again this will depend on the final decision by my agent,” she stated.
“I will make up my mind by Tuesday or Wednesday. At the moment, I’m wishing all the athletes preparing for the race success. Hopefully, I will be able to join them on track on Saturday,” she underlined.
Kipyegon hinted that she wants Kip Keino Classic and other forthcoming races to form part of her build-up schedules for her quest to go for a third world title in Budapest, Hungary, in August.
She reiterated that her mission is not only to go for the three-peat in Budapest, but to also break the elusive world record that evaded her severally last season by a whisker.
Her dream to smash the global record has also been inspired by her victory in Doha which she termed as a step in the right direction for the year. “Winning in Qatar on Friday night proved to me that this will be a very fruitful season,” she stated.
In order to realize her dream of breaking the world record, Kipyegon said she will embark on a very elaborate training which will be coupled with a healthy lifestyle.
“I believe nothing is impossible in this world, I’ll keep on trying, I’m confident this year will really be good for me,” she said
Other international stars who will line up for glory at the Kip Keino Classic are Africa fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala, double Olympic women’s 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica), sixth fastest woman of all time Sha’carri Richardson (USA), multiple Olympic medalist Aaron Brown (Canada) among others.
