Kipyegon eyes Monaco springboard on road to recovery

Faith Kipyegon says she is on the road to recovery from a hamstring injury and is aiming to use the 3,000m at the Diamond League meet in Monaco as a springboard for the rest of the season.

The Kenyan, who has three Olympic and four world 1,500m titles to her name in a storied career, could only finish third in the mile in Eugene last week.

The 32-year-old admitted to running at 98% of her capabilities, but said that that was also normal in the world of elite track.

“Losing is part of the game,” Kipyegon told AFP ahead of the 10th meeting on the 15-leg Diamond League circuit.

“You can’t be a winner every time, but at the same time, people don’t understand what we go through behind the scenes, the training, the hard work, the injury, everything.

“But it’s sport. We have to accept and move on and accept that defeat to just be better in the next race.

“It was not surprising that I lost in Eugene because I knew where I was coming from. I knew the injuries I went through. I knew the confidence is not back.”

Kipyegon added: “The road to recovery is almost there and hopefully at the end of the season I will be back to do beautiful races.

“It’s not easy competing when you’re only at 98%. To race against the best in the world, you really need to be at 100%.

“I’ll just try to be myself, run the race I’ve prepared for and continue my recovery.”

An athlete’s own understanding of their body was crucial, with it being unusual that someone competes totally pain-free, she added.

“When it comes to a championship or the Olympics, if you have an injury and you can still run, it’s possible, especially with the mentality.”

Turning to the 3,000m in Monaco, Kipyegon said she expected a “beautiful race” on a track where she set the world mile record in 2023.

“Now, it’s just to get the rhythm back. Tomorrow, I’m going to race to get the confidence back, I’m going to race to be myself.

“I’m just going to try my best, run a beautiful race, get back to the circuit and continue towards the end of the season.”

With neither a world champs nor an Olympics this season, Kipyegon said her goal was to peak for World Athletics’ inaugural season-ending Ultimate Championship, to be held in Budapest in September.

“That championship is my biggest goal, to be healthy on that day and to be healthy at the end of the season,” she said.