A tumultuous Olympics saw Faith Kipyegon struggle, while Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay had a rougher experience. Both athletes departed the event with a mix of emotions.
In a recent interview on Citizen TV’s JKLive with Jeff Koinange, Olympic gold medalist Faith Kipyegon recounted the dramatic 5,000m race where her second-place finish was at first disqualified and then later reinstated.
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet won gold in the 5,000m at Paris 2024. Faith Kipyegon mentioned that she was apparently pushed by Gudaf Tsegay but managed to recover and finish the race with a silver medal.
“I didn’t think I would be disqualified. I was not disappointed in getting the silver medal; I was disappointed about being disqualified without knowing what I did wrong. That 5,000m race took a lot out of me,” she told Jeff Koinange.
Faith reiterated that such races require teamwork and concentration to succeed. She noted that when the shoving incident occurred with Tsegay, it caused her to lose focus and drop to ninth place, while Faith finished in second.
“While I was leading the race, she came to my side and I was trying hard to avoid getting inside the line because I would have been automatically disqualified and I had to remain strong not to step inside the line,” she said.
The squabble between Faith and Tsegay was resolved after the 1500m race when the Ethiopian runner approached Faith to apologize. Kipyegon now insists that they are good friends, though she admitted to empathizing with Gudaf.
“After the 1500m heats, she came and knelt before me and asked me to forgive her because this is sports and I need her in competition, I just forgave her. We need each other to push ourselves to the limit and break records,” she said.
“I really felt for her because she competed in 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m for not getting a medal after all her effort but I think it’s because we started with trouble in the 5,000m race,” Faith added.
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Faith Kipyegon explained that she was not disqualified for finishing with silver on the podium but rather since she was being punished for a mistake she did not know of.
The 34-year-old expressed pride in having inspired many women in Kenya and Africa to compete and win medals. She also served as the captain of Team Kenya.
“Discipline has kept me going because I have to listen and follow what my coaches are telling me and add that to my young daughter, Alaine, I have to work hard for her so that she can also be inspired just like the way I’m inspiring young mothers,” she said.
In terms of competition, Kipyegon remarked that her best performances were still ahead. She suggested that Kenya had yet to witness her record-breaking achievements and greater performances.
