Faith Kipyegon runs crazy fast last 800m, wins 1,500m gold in upset

A painfully slow first two laps turned into a thrilling finish in the women’s 1500m final.

The four lap race started off at a jog, with no one wanting to risk their race in order to push the pace. The overwhelming favourite, Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba, stayed at the back with another contender, Laura Muir of Britain. After two laps, Muir first moved to the front, pushing the pace slightly. Then Dibaba abruptly swung wide and then cruised up to the front, joining Kenya’s Faith Kipyegeon, her chief threat.

And at that the pace quickly ratcheted up. Dibaba, who set the 1,500m world record in 2015, was seen as unbeatable just a year ago. But injury problems and a doping scandal involving her coach have shaken her confidence this year. But she was still expected to beat the field in Rio.

Dibaba hit the back straightaway with Kipyegeon checking her, as they dropped Muir and the fractured field. With 200m to go, as they took the penultimate turn, Kipyegon overtook Dibaba with authority. In the last turn onto the homestretch, the 22-year-old Kenyan opened up her lead, decisively defeating Dibaba in 4:08.92. The disappointed Ethiopian held on to silver in 4:10.27.

#KEN‘s Faith Kipyegon shocks world-record holder Genzebe Dibaba to take #gold in 1500m #Rio2016

?: @patricksmith04 pic.twitter.com/60BzA1RhfM

— Getty Images Sport (@GettySport) August 17, 2016

The lacklustre opening pace turned into a world class 800m embedded within this 1,500m race. The closing 800m was clocked at 1:57.7. By comparison, Melissa Bishop’s Canadian record is 1:57.52.

Both American runners in the final, Jenny Simpson and Shannon Robury, responded brilliantly to the bell lap, running the final 400m aggressively. Simpson moved up steadily, sprinting for a bronze medal. Rowbury finished just behind in fourth.

Kipyegon becomes the first female to have won both the world junior 1,500m championship and an Olympic gold medal.

Canada sent three athletes in the women’s 1,500m: Nicole Sifuentes, Hilary Stellingwerff and Gabriela Stafford. Sifuentes did make it to the semifinal, but didn’t advance to the final.

The men’s 1,500m semifinal is set for Thursday night at 7:45 p.m. ET. Both Canadians Nate Brannen and Charles Philibert-Thiboutot have advanced.

POS	BIB	ATHLETE	COUNTRY	MARK
1	950	Faith Chepngetich KIPYEGON	KEN	4:08.92
2	643	Genzebe DIBABA	ETH	4:10.27
3	1372	Jennifer SIMPSON	USA	4:10.53
4	1370	Shannon ROWBURY	USA	4:11.05
5	1032	Sifan HASSAN	NED	4:11.23
6	1222	Meraf BAHTA	SWE	4:12.59
7	710	Laura MUIR	GBR	4:12.88
8	648	Dawit SEYAUM	ETH	4:13.14
9	647	Besu SADO	ETH	4:13.58
10	1095	Sofia ENNAOUI	POL	4:14.72
11	728	Laura WEIGHTMAN	GBR	4:14.95
12	993	Rababe ARAFI	MAR	4:15.16