Donation Amount. Min £2

Faith Kipyegon hopes to inspire young athletes to embrace resilience and freedom in their careers, sharing how she overcame setbacks to achieve Olympic success and her early joy of running barefoot.

Faith Kipyegon is undoubtedly the greatest 1500m runner of all time and with her tons of accolades, many athletes look up to her.

Having this in mind, the three-time Olympic champion explained that she wants all her fans and upcoming runners to know there is freedom in being an accomplished athlete.

She had one of the most surprising outings at the Paris Olympic Games, being shortly disqualified after the women’s 5000m and her silver medal stripped, before it was reinstated upon an appeal, but she bounced back to take 1500m gold medal. 

 

From such experiences, Faith Kipyegon noted that she wants people to know that they have the freedom to rediscover themselves and they can always bounce back no matter the setbacks they are bound to face.

“When young runners from the next generation watch me compete, I want them to see freedom — the freedom to challenge themselves in new ways. My 2024 season was beautiful. I was thankful for competing in the 5,000m in Paris and the 1,500m, which happened a few days later,” Faith Kipyegon said in an interview with Nike.

“But when I held that silver medal from the 5,000m, I thought to myself, ‘I can’t let this disturb my 1,500 dreams.’ So, I put that silver medal away. I had to be mentally strong to achieve my goal in the 1,500m,” she added. 

She added that growing up, she always loved competing bare foot because it was enjoyable then. Despite having spikes in a couple of races, Faith Kipyegon noted that she could not stand wearing them and opted to run barefoot mostly.

The double world champion went down memory lane to the days when she and her classmates would run back home for lunch then back to school. She termed running as a ‘shared childhood experience.’

“Running barefoot has always felt comfortable to me. When I started running competitively at 14, I was given spikes to wear for the first time. I was happy to have them, but feeling as comfortable in spikes as I was while running barefoot took a long time. I even turned down wearing spikes a few times. Now, I still can’t believe how I’m running in the fastest spikes on the planet,” she added. By Abigael Wafula, Pulse

About IEA Media Ltd

Informer East Africa is a UK based diaspora Newspaper. It is a unique platform connecting East Africans at home and abroad through news dissemination. It is a forum to learn together, grow together and get entertained at the same time.

To advertise events or products, get in touch by info [at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447957636854.
If you have an issue or a story, get in touch with the editor through editor[at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447886544135.

We also accept donations from our supporters. Please click on "donate". Your donations will go along way in supporting the newspaper.

Get in touch

Our Offices

London, UK
+44 7886 544135
editor (@) informereastafrica.com
Slough, UK
+44 7957 636854
info (@) informereastafrica.com

Latest News

Transforming agrifood systems in East and Southern Africa: Shaping the 2025–2030 Agenda

Transforming agrifoo...

CGIAR, through its Regional Integrated Initiatives (RIIs), has been working on scaling affordable, c...

UN judge 'exploited and abused' Ugandan woman she kept as enslaved while in UK

UN judge 'explo...

Judge Lydia Mugambe (photo credit: UNITED NATIONS) Mugambe was appointed to the UN's judicial roste...

Briton killed by vehicle in Ruto’s motorcade on Ngong Road identified

Briton killed by veh...

Authorities have identified the British national killed in a fatal road accident near Adams Arcade,...

AfDB gives Sh28.8b for Kenya-South Sudan road

AfDB gives Sh28.8b f...

Kenya National Highways Authority road under construction. PHOTO/Print The trade route between Keny...

For Advertisement

Big Reach

Informer East Africa is one platform for all people. It is a platform where you find so many professionals under one umbrella serving the African communities together.

Very Flexible

We exist to inform you, hear from you and connect you with what is happening around you. We do this professionally and timely as we endeavour to capture all that you should never miss. Informer East Africa is simply news for right now and the future.

Quality News

We only bring to you news that is verified, checked and follows strict journalistic guidelines and standards. We believe in 1. Objective coverage, 2. Impartiality and 3. Fair play.

Banner & Video Ads

A banner & video advertisement from our sponsors will show up every once in a while. It keeps us and our writers coffee replenished.