Multiple Olympics and world 1,500 metres champion, Faith Kipyegon of Kenya broke her own world record in the women’s 1,500 meters at the Diamond League track and field meeting in Paris on Sunday.
Kipyegon clocked 3:49.04, to surpass her record of 3:49.11, which was set in Italy last year.
The two-time Olympic 1,500m champion claimed the world record for the first time on June 2, last year in Florence, Italy, winning in 3:49.11, to erase the previous record of 3:50.07 set by Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba on July 17, 2015.
“I knew the world record was possible because I recently ran very fast in Kenya,” said Kipyegon, who clocked 3:53.98 at Kenya’s Olympic Trials. “I was coming here to just run my race and to see what shape I’m in to defend my title at the Olympics.”
Nine other runners in the race achieved personal bests. Jessica Hull of Australia finished second in 3:50.83, smashing her own Oceania record by five seconds. Laura Muir was third in a British record of 3:53.79.
The 30-year-old Kipyegon is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500, having won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021. Before Sunday, she had only run twice in 2024, in the 1,500 and 5,000, to secure her spot for the Paris Olympics at the Kenyan trials in June.