Remember the name, Faith Kipyegon! The distance-running sensation has already conquered it all. After clinching her fourth world title in the 1500 meters with a commanding 3:52.15, Kipyegon returned to the U.S. to test her skills at Athlos against America’s top talent. And once again, she proved that no one can touch her in the mile. On the second day of the event, Kipyegon stole the spotlight, breaking the record on U.S. soil, just as Alexis Ohanian had predicted.

Faith Kipyegon’s dominance remained unshaken, cruising to her second ATHLOS NYC title with a commanding 4:17.78 mile victory. Even as Gudaf Tsegay blasted out a first 400m in 60.5, she held on for second in 4:19.75, well ahead of the rest of the field, while Nikki Hiltz surged to claim third in 4:32.51. The Kenyan athlete started strong and maintained her lead, despite others closing in on her. This performance is reminiscent of her World Athletics 1500m race, where the same scenario unfolded.

Along with winning the Athlos medal for the mile, Faith Kipyegon set the fastest women’s outdoor mile ever on U.S. soil! That said, the overall women’s mile record still belongs to Nikki Hiltz, who clocked 4:16.35 in Fontvieille, Monaco, on July 21, 2023. Well, her performance was exactly what Alexis Ohanian expected; he anticipated someone breaking the record and placed all his money on none other than Kipyegon. “I’m a big fan of all of the sprinters, but you know what? Thanks to CashApp, we have a quarter of $1 million cash prize available if someone sets a world record,” said Alexis Ohanian.

He further added, “Faith Kipyegon in the mile is statistically going to be the best bet for that. I saw her last night, and I told her, “I will be happy for you to take my money if you set that world record at Athlos.” So, I will be paying very close attention to the mile. On U.S. soil, six faster times have been recorded indoors: Elle St. Pierre leads with 4:16.41 and 4:16.85, followed by Heather MacLean at 4:17.01. Doina Melinte of Romania posted 4:17.14, Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen ran 4:17.26, and Mary Decker rounds out the list with 4:17.55.

From Olympics to World Championships to Athlos, Faith has delivered back-to-back winning performances, achieving greatness largely on her own despite limited training facilities back home. Yes, you read that right, she recently opened up about the challenges she faced while preparing in her home country.

Faith Kipyegon highlights the difficulties she faces back home

Shortly before her performance, Faith Kipyegon joined Georgia Hunter-Bell and Keely Hodgkinson for a media interaction. A journalist from Jamaica posed a thought-provoking question, noting that while both Jamaica and Kenya boast immense talent, they often lack world-class training facilities. Faith responded thoughtfully,  “Oh, yeah. It’s really difficult, but we normally try to use what is possible and just make use of it. Because in Africa, we don’t have, you know, the best facilities to train, like tracks and everything. When I was preparing for SAFOR, I was just using my ramp track to prepare for that breaking point.”

She further added, “So it was really tough. But I normally ask our government to do, you know, something about the facilities—especially training tracks and stadiums. Because, you know, we are also bidding for the 2029 World Championship in Kenya, and that will be tough if we don’t have good facilities. So we hope they will make some corrections, and we will have a good European.”

Kenya’s star athletes have long called out the country’s weak training infrastructure, warning that it stifles their potential on the global stage. Faith Kipyegon opened up about her struggles, lamenting how officials rarely heed the athletes’ pleas for support. Well, after the recent back-to-back winning performance, will Kenya listen to their demands?