*Undated
Faith Kipyegon who is a 2-time Olympic champion took more than a year away from running and didn't rush the process of regaining fitness.
Following the birth of her first child, Alyn, in 2018, the Kenyan took a 21-month break before returning to the sport with renewed motivation.
At Tokyo 2020, she joined Australia's Shirley Strickland and Cameroonian triple-jumper Francoise Mbango Etone in achieving the rare feat. "That was what was in my head - I said I will defend my title and run as a mum," Kipyegon said in an interview.
"I dedicated the medal to her," said the 2021 BBC African Sports Personality of the Year nominee. "And when I landed in Eldoret, she welcomed me, held the medal and said 'This is my medal' - it was something special."
"When I took time out to have a baby, I took a full year off running: four months before the birth, another eight months after it. Coming back was not easy. Your body changes during pregnancy. I gained a lot of weight: I was 45kg before, 53kg after. Things were not as they were before. I lost all my fitness. I was tired all the time. But that doesn’t mean you can’t come back. It just takes time."Kipyegon detailed.
"I took eight months of rest after she was born, breast-feeding her all that time. Then I started walking and jogging again, building towards the World Championships in Doha. I decided to move coaches for my comeback as I’m now living in Eldoret, which is close to Kaptagat, where my management – Global Sports Communication – has a camp overseen by Patrick Sang. He’s a really good coach, one who understood how my body was working as it came back from maternity leave. He gave me a training programme and although it was very sensible, it still wasn’t easy to complete all the time."
"My body had been inactive for so long and I was really tired going for long runs. Three times a week, I did gym sessions to strengthen my body and, after a while, my fitness started to come back." Explained Kipyegon.
Her first race came a year after giving birth; June 2019 in Stanford. Four months later, Kipyegon ran a perfect race in Doha, winning 1500m silver and setting a Kenyan record of 3:54.22."That was two seconds quicker than I had ever run, a time I couldn’t do before maternity, which is proof of what’s possible."
"Life, of course, is different now than it was before. It took time to adjust, to find that balance between being a mother and a professional athlete. Yes, coming back is really difficult, but you don’t have to lose hope. All you have to do is make sure there are good people around you and to approach your sport with a fresh mind, to stay going on the road back, even when it’s hard. Remind yourself that you were a good athlete before, and you will be again."
Kipyegon is a rare runner and despite taking on much younger - and childless - rivals, she proved again in 2021 why she is simply the world's best miler. Out of the 10 races she contested, she only lost one - to Sifan Hassan at the Diamond League in Florence. Kipyegon gained revenge on Dutchwoman Hassan when winning the 2021 Diamond League 1500m trophy, a success she puts above her Olympic gold given her speed.