WCH Tokyo 25 facts and figures: women's 1500m

Last three sets of World Athletics Championships medallists

2023: 1 Faith Kipyegon (KEN) – 3:54.87, 2 Diribe Welteji (ETH) – 3:55.69, 3 Sifan Hassan (NED) – 3:56.00
2022: 2 Faith Kipyegon (KEN) – 3:52.96, 2 Gudaf Tsegay (ETH) – 3:54.52, 3 Laura Muir (GBR) – 3:55.28
2019: 3 Sifan Hassan (NED) – 3:51.95, 2 Faith Kipyegon (KEN) – 3:54.22, 3 Gudaf Tsegay (ETH) – 3:54.38

Last two sets of Olympic medallists

Fastest winning times in World Athletics Championships history

3:51.95 – Sifan Hassan (NED), 2019
3:52.96 – Faith Kipyegon (KEN), 2022
3:54.87 – Faith Kipyegon (KEN), 2023

Slowest winning time in World Athletics Championships history

4:08.09 – Genzebe Dibaba (ETH), 2015

Best marks on Japanese soil

3:53.11 1 Faith Kipyegon (KEN) - Tokyo (Olympics) 06.08.2021
3:54.50 2 Laura Muir (GBR) - Tokyo (Olympics) 06.08.2021
3:55.86 3 Sifan Hassan (NED) - Tokyo (Olympics) 06.08.2021

Best marks on Asian soil

3:50:30 1 Gudaf Tsegay (ETH) - Xiamen 20.04.2024
3:50.46 1 Qu Yunxia (CHN) - Beijing 11.09.1993
3:50.98 1 Bo Jiang (CHN) - Shanghai 18.10.1997

Biggest winning margins

2.98s – 1993: Liu Dong (CHN) – 4:00.50, Sonia O’Sullivan (IRL) – 4:03.48
1.94s – 2007: Maryam Jamal (BRN) – 3:58.75, Iryna Lishchynska (UKR) – 4:00.69
2.27s – 2019: Sifan Hassan (NED) – 3:51.95, Faith Kipyegon (KEN) – 3:54.22

​​Smallest winning margins

0.01s – 2009: Maryam Jamal (BRN) – 4:03.74, Lisa Dobriskey (GBR) – 4:03.75
0.11s – 1987: Tatyana Samolenko (URS/UKR) – 3:58.56, Hildegard Körner (GDR/GER) – 3:58.67
0.17s – 2017: Faith Kipyegon (KEN) – 4:02.59, Jenny Simpson (USA) – 4:02.76

Best mark by round

Heat — 4:00.87 Nelly Chepchirchir (KEN), 2023
Semifinal — 3:55.14 Faith Kipyegon (KEN), 2023
Final — 3:51.95 Sifan Hassan (NED), 2019

Multiple winners

1991/95 - Hassiba Boulmerka (ALG)
2003/05 - Tatyana Tomashova (RUS)
2007/09 - Maryam Jamal (BRN)
2017/22/23 - Faith Kipyegon (KEN)

Winners by country

3 - Kenya
3 - Russia
2 - United States
2 - Algeria
2 - Bahrain
1 - Soviet Union
1 - China
1 - Portugal
1 - Romania
1 - Sweden
1 - Ethiopia
1 - Netherlands

Five historic facts

• Hassiba Boulmerka (ALG) became the first African woman to win a world title in any event when she won the 1500m in Tokyo 1991
• Seven of the 19 world 1500m finals have been won with sub-4:00 times
• The last five global 1500m finals (three world, two Olympics) have been won with sub-3:55 winning times
• Faith Kipyegon (KEN) became the first woman to win a 1500/5000m double at the World Championships in 2023
• The 1987, 1991 and 1993 world finals were held as 15-athlete finals as opposed to 12

​​Potential storylines

• Can Faith Kipyegon (KEN) win her fifth successive global title in the women’s 1500m and her sixth in total? 
• If Kipyegon retains her title, she will become only the second woman to win four titles in the same track event after Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM) who has won five 100m titles.
• Kipyegon would also become the oldest winner of the 1500m title in World Championships history at 31y/249d (age on race day).
• Can Jessica Hull (AUS) become the first Australian medallist in this event in World Championships history?
• Can the United States win their first medal in this event since Jenny Simpson in 2017?
• Can Laura Muir (GBR) make her ninth successive global 1500m final since 2015? 
• 14 athletes on the entry-list have broken 3:58 in 2025 and 27 of the 64 athletes on the final entries have broken 4:00 in 2025