Newly crowned 1,500m world champion Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon intends to break the world record at the 2022 Herculis Diamond League meeting slated for Wednesday August 10, in Monaco, France.
The double Olympic champion who is regarded by many as one of the greatest 1,500m female runners of all-time is in fine form this season.
Kipyegon defeated a star-studded field that had the likes of Britain’s Laura Muir and Dutch speedstar Sifan Hassan at the recently concluded 2022 World Athletics champion to win Kenya’s only female gold medal at the event staged in Oregon.
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The Keringet Winners Girls High School alumna recently revealed that her focus now shifts to smashing the world record.
“I am so grateful and looking forward to becoming the greatest of all time in the 1500m. My target now is to get the world record. The hard work will continue and I pray that I remain injury free and mentally strong.
“In the next two weeks, I’m going for the Diamond League in Monaco which is a very fast track and I’m looking forward to racing there for the second time,” Kipyegon was quoted by People Daily.
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She came close to breaking the world record of 3:50.7 which was set by Ethiopian legend Genzebe Dibaba in July 2015 when she clocked 3:51.07 at the 2021 edition. Dibaba set the record at Stade Louis II in Monaco, the same track where Kipyegon will be racing.
Several world records have been broken at the Stade Louis II track in the past five years. Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech smashed the 3,000m steeplechase world record in 2018 when she led from the tape to cross the finishing line in 8:44.32.
Two years later, Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei set a new 5,000m world record at the same venue clocking 12:35.36.
Some of the elite runners who will grace the Herculis meeting include Jamaica’s five-time 100m world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto and United State’s Noah Lyles.
400m hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin, Shericka Jackson and Yulimer Rojas will also take part in the event.
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