At the 12th Diamond League meet of the season in Silesia, Poland, on 16/8, Kipyegon aimed to break the 3,000m world record of 8 minutes 6.11 seconds set by China's Wang Junxia in Beijing in 1993.
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Faith Kipyegon competes in the 3,000m event at the Diamond League in Silesia, Poland on 16/8. Photo: Diamond League |
Faith Kipyegon competes in the 3,000m event at the Diamond League in Silesia, Poland on 16/8. Photo: Diamond League
Kipyegon was paced by Josette Andrews Hurta-Klecker (USA) and Jessica Hull (Australia). The trio quickly separated from the pack in the first 300 meters, aiming for the three-decade-old record.
After the pacers dropped out, Kipyegon maintained a near-world-record pace, more than 200 meters ahead of her competitors. In the final 400 meters, she still had a chance to reach the 8:06.11 mark.
But her final sprint only brought the Kenyan runner to the finish line at 8:07.04. She couldn't break Wang's record, but still set a series of milestones: a Kenyan record, an African record, a meet record, and the second-fastest time in 3,000m history.
This was Kipyegon's first competition in Poland since 2013, where she won gold at the World U20 Cross Country Championships.
"I'm very happy. I was thinking about the world record throughout the race, but the weather was too hot today. I want to come back here next year. Breaking records is what I love, and I want to inspire the younger generation," Kipyegon said after the race.
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Faith Kipyegon broke the African record, meet record, and achieved the best 3,000m time of 2025. Photo: Diamond League |
Faith Kipyegon broke the African record, meet record, and achieved the best 3,000m time of 2025. Photo: Diamond League
Kipyegon is known as the queen of middle-distance running, holding the world records in the 1,500m and the mile, and formerly held the 5,000m record. She is the only athlete in history to win three consecutive gold medals in the 1,500m, at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024—where she also set the Olympic record.
In addition to her Olympic achievements, Kipyegon is the world champion in the 1,500m in 2017, 2022, and 2023, and the 5,000m world champion in 2023. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, she also won silver in the 5,000m after a successful appeal against disqualification.
Another athlete who achieved a near-world record at the Silesia Diamond League was Karsten Warholm. In the men's 400m hurdles, the Norwegian runner won with 46.28 seconds—the third-fastest time in history, a Diamond League record, and the world's best time this year.
In history, only Warholm himself (45.94 seconds at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics) and Rai Benjamin (46.17 seconds) have run faster. Ezekiel Nathaniel (Nigeria) finished second with 47.31 seconds, also breaking the national record.
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Karsten Warholm celebrates winning the men's 400m hurdles. Photo: Diamond League |
Karsten Warholm celebrates winning the men's 400m hurdles. Photo: Diamond League
In the women's event, Dutch runner Femke Bol also asserted her dominance, finishing in 51.91 seconds to break the meet record. She finished ahead of Emma Zapletalova (Slovakia), who set a national record with 53.58 seconds.
Hong Duy (World Athletics)
