Faith Kipyegon in Monaco (© Alessandro Garofalo / Diamond League)
Faith Kipyegon will return to the scene of her world record-threatening 1500m performance when she races at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco on 21 July.
The two-time Olympic and world champion ran 3:50.37 at the Stade Louis II during last year’s Herculis EBS meeting, going close to Genzebe Dibaba’s 2015 world record of 3:50.07.
That came after the Kenyan won a second world 1500m title in Oregon and she went on to claim a third Diamond League crown at the final in Zurich.
Four current world records were set in Monaco – Dibaba’s 3:50.07 1500m, Sifan Hassan’s 4:12.33 mile, Beatrice Chepkoech’s 8:44.32 3000m steeplechase and Joshua Cheptegei’s 12:35.36 5000m – and Kipyegon will no doubt be looking for another fast time as she warms up for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest one month later.
She started her season on the right note, winning at the opening Diamond League meeting in Doha in 3:58.57.
Another world and Olympic champion, Kipyegon’s compatriot Emmanuel Korir, will also be in Monaco looking to make a statement ahead of the World Championships. After finishing second in the 800m in 2021, the 27-year-old raced the 1000m in Monaco last year but returns to his specialist distance in July – a discipline in which he won his third Diamond Trophy last September.
Kiplimo and Aregawi in 5000m head-to-head
They claimed the top two spots at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23 in February and now Jacob Kiplimo and Berihu Aregawi will clash again, this time over 5000m on the track.
Kiplimo added cross country gold to his world half marathon title and world record, plus 10,000m bronze medals at the Olympics and World Championships, while Aregawi secured silver in Bathurst to go with his 2021 5000m Diamond Trophy and world 5km record.
Uganda’s Kiplimo then claimed a half marathon win in New York in March but is yet to compete on the track this year – his last track races being the Commonwealth Games 5000m and 10,000m finals, and he won both.
Ethiopia’s Aregawi opened his season at the Diamond League meeting in Doha and ran 7:27.61 to finish third in the 3000m, the distance he contested in Monaco last year and achieved a runner-up spot in 7:26.81.
They will be joined by Jimmy Gressier of France, who has twice improved the European 5km record in Monaco.
Organisers for World Athletics
