Some races go out slowly. Some races go out hard. And then there was that women’s 1500.
Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia took the race out at a sprint, with three women sticking to her: two-time Olympic gold medalist Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, Olympic silver medalist Laura Muir of Great Britain, and Hirut Meshesha of Ethiopia.
It didn’t take long for a gap to form between the front four and the next nine runners in the field, which made the 1500 look more like a marathon than the metric mile.
Kipyegon, as she does so often, tucked in behind Tsegay and exploded to the lead down the final backstretch, winning in 3:52.96.
Published: Jul 19, 2022 3:54 PM EST.
“I didn’t look at the clock at all the whole race,” Muir said. “After the first couple hundred meters, I knew, this is very, very fast and I thought, ‘You know what? It’s not going to help to look at the clock right now. It’s probably better not to look.’ For me, it was all about racing; it wasn’t about times.”
Give A Gift:
200 Meters: The distance into the race at which the leading four had developed a noticeable gap on the relinquish pack.
58.81: Must-See Races At Worlds
2:03.18: Tsegay’s 800-meter split
61.15: Finishing place of Meshesha, who tried to stick with the leaders for the opening two laps
6.00: Health - Injuries
4: Other Hearst Subscriptions
1: Number of medals Muir has won in five World Championships competitions, after making five finals, since 2013
10th: Fastest time ever run in the women’s 1500 meters, by Kipyegon. She also holds the fourth and ninth times on the top-10 list.
6th: Health & Injuries.
12th: Must-See Races At Worlds
August 10: The Diamond League meet in Monaco, where Kipyegon will be trying to run “very fast,” although she didn’t openly acknowledge she’d be chasing the world record
3:50.07: The world record, set by Gezebe Dibaba of Ethiopia, in 2015
Other Hearst Subscriptions is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World Here are some of the mind-blowing stats from the race, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
