Kenyan middle-distance star Faith Kipyegon says she is closing in on full fitness after battling a hamstring injury and hopes Friday's 3,000m race at the Monaco Diamond League will mark a turning point in her season. The multiple Olympic and world champion admitted she is still working her way back to peak condition following the injury that affected her performances in recent weeks.
Kipyegon finished third in the women's mile at last week's Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, a result she said reflected the physical challenges she has been dealing with rather than a surprise setback. The 32-year-old explained that competing at anything less than full fitness makes it difficult to match the world's best athletes, but stressed that defeats are part of elite sport and can serve as valuable learning experiences.
The four-time world 1,500m champion revealed that her confidence is steadily returning as her rehabilitation progresses. While acknowledging she is not yet at 100 percent, she believes Monaco offers the perfect opportunity to rebuild her rhythm on a track where she has previously enjoyed great success, including setting the women's mile world record in 2023.
Rather than focusing solely on victory in Monaco, Kipyegon sees the race as another important step toward regaining her best form. She intends to approach the event with patience, aiming to race naturally while continuing her recovery ahead of the second half of the campaign.
With no World Championships or Olympic Games on this year's calendar, Kipyegon has identified the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest this September as her primary target. Her main objective is to arrive at the season-ending event healthy and capable of producing the performances that have established her as one of the greatest middle-distance runners in history.
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