Faith Kipyegon has made an astonishing return to the track after the "journey" of having her first child with the Kenyan bagging two world records and underlining her status as the world's best 1500m runner.
The 29-year-old has hit form ahead of the world championships in Budapest in August, setting world records in the 1500m in Florence on June 2, followed by another record over 5,000m in Paris a week later.
At the Diamond League meeting in Monaco on Friday she will aim for a third word record, this time in the mile.
Kipyegon told AFP in an interview at her training camp in Kenya that she wants to show female athletes that having a child can be the springboard to relaunch their careers.
"I know what women pass through after maternity leave. They think it's the end of your life. I want to prove them wrong: this is the future, it's the start of your career," Kipyegon said.
"It was not easy. But I had people around me: my coach, my manager, my officials, my husband, who really believed in me."
Kipyegon, who gave birth to daughter Alyn in June 2018 and shed 19kg on the road back to competition, added: "It's not an easy journey, it needs a lot of mental strength, you need to be strong and courageous in all you do.
"I just took time. I took time to enjoy the bundle of my joy Alyn, just have fun with my daughter because she was still young, and turn slowly by slowly towards the 2019 world championships.
"I took a lot of time in training to reduce weight, do gym and exercise, to bring my body (through) in a fit way."
Since August 2020, Kipyegon has won 26 of the 29 races in which she has competed.
Over her preferred 1500m, she has won 17 from 18, including the Tokyo Olympic final in 2021 when she regained the title she won at the 2016 Rio Games.
She also added a second world title in Eugene last year after first winning in 2017. She was pipped to world gold in Qatar in 2019 -- her first major championships since she gave birth -- by Sifan Hassan.
- Balanced athlete -
Married to London Olympic 800m bronze medallist Timothy Kiptum, Kipyegon trains under the watchful eye of Patrick Sang, who also coaches marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge.
Sang described Kipyegon as someone who had an attitude to life and racing similar to that of Kipchoge.
"She is one of those few balanced athletes with a capacity for endurance and also for speed," Sang told AFP.
"I was really impressed. Some athletes are complaining, she never complains. She does the work. She is a very focused athlete."
Kipyegon first came to fame -- barefoot -- when winning the junior world cross-country championship in Punta Umbria in 2011 at the age of 17, sprinting to a memorable gold in a photo-finish.
"It has been a journey," she acknowledged. "I was feeling comfortable to run barefoot. I was still young, just coming from the village.
"I had never used spikes," she reminisced. "I used what I am comfortable with. After Punta Umbria, I came back home and learned slowly, slowly to use the spikes and now I am using spikes and I don’t know how to run barefoot anymore!"
Kipyegon admitted that her time on the track over 1500m -- her world record is 3min 49.11sec -- will be limited.
"You can’t stay in the 1500m for many years," she said.
"I have achieved all and left a legacy in the 1500m. I need to introduce myself to other distances."
She certainly did that, setting the world 5,000m record in her first race over that distance since 2015.
Her time of 14:05.20 sliced a second and a half off the previous best of 14:06.62.
"It was all about introducing myself to 5,000 because it is the way to go: 5,000m and moving onwards to 10,000m, the marathon.
"If I am healthy, injury-free, anything is possible."
For now, Kipyegon will aim for a third world title over 1500m in Budapest as well as a first gold in the 5,000m.
"From there, we explore the possibilities," said coach Sang.
sva/lp/gj
