“Last week we dared to try”- Faith Kipyegon opens up on historic run at Prefontaine Classic after sub-4 mile miss in Paris

Kenyan athlete Faith Kipyegon made her feelings known after registering a 1500m world record at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic on Saturday, July 5. She clocked 3:48.68 to win the race at Hayward Field and became the first athlete to run under 3:49 over the 1500m distance.

Notably, the previous world record of 3:49.04 was also held by Kipyegon, which she registered at Paris last year. This was the Kenyan athlete's second Diamond League victory after the one in Xiamen.

Hours after the Prefontaine Classic victory, Kipyegon shared a post expressing her emotions about breaking the world record, just a week after her attempt to break the sub-4 mile in Paris, where she came agonizingly close (4:06.91). She wrote:

"WORLD RECORD - 3:48.68 🥹💜 In life, many times things come to you in an indirect way. Last week we dared to try. This week, I was able to break the 1500m world record & win my 7th @preclassic, a night to remember ❤️ Thank you all for the best support, Hayward is true magic"

Faith Kipyegon defeated several top athletes such as Diribe Welteji, Jessica Hull, and Nikki Hiltz at the Prefontaine Classic. She had also clinched 1500m victories in this competition back in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively.

Faith Kipyegon shares how the sub-4-mile attempt challenge helped her break the 1500m world record

Faith Kipyegon (Image via: Getty)

Faith Kipyegon shared how the sub-4-mile attempt in Paris last week helped her break the 1500m world record at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic. The Kenyan is also notably quite close to the 5000m world record, and sits in the fourth position in 14:05.20.

In an interview after her victory in Eugene, Kipyegon said that she was pushing herself to get better for the mile attempt in Paris, which has also helped her in the 1500m event. She said, via Wanda Diamond League Eugene:

"I think the changes were that I was preparing myself for something special, which was to run under four minutes in a mile and I think I pushed myself, getting better and better toward the 1500, so I knew it was possible to still run under 3:49. . I'm grateful to God that I made it today."

During the conversation, Kipyegon also remarked that her other opponents on the field also push her a lot, which was a good sign for the sport in her opinion.