Faith Chepng’etich Kipyegon’s life has for the last ten years been about chasing after the next gold medal. And she has her sight currently trained on yet another gold medal at the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games where she will be defending the world 1500 m women’s title.
With five gold medals to her name already, she is currently at the Kaptagat training camp preparing for the upcoming Olympic Games—shelved last year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. They may or may not happen this year depending on how the pandemic continues to unfold.
Growing up in Chebara village, in Marakwet West, as a young girl, Chepng’etich always found herself chasing after a ball with boys in a sociable football game. Because of her terrific speed, the boys feared that once she had the ball at her feet it would be hard getting it back before she had gotten to the goal post. She was in lower primary then.
“That is how I discovered that I could run fast. And that is also how I ended up joining the school running team at my school, Chebara Primary School. I won the school cross country competitions, and went on with the competitions through to the national level,” recollects the 27-year old middle-distance runner and the current Olympic champion in the 1500m women’s having won the 2016 Rio Olympics.
After 10 years as a professional runner and having broken multiple records, Chepng’etich says it has taken discipline to achieve these feats.
While many may assume great athletes are simply born with a natural affinity for the game, often their will to win is nurtured consciously with manual effort, at least according to the cheery Chepng’etich who says she is always “hungry” for success, and knows to achieve it she has to “put in the (onerous) hard work”.
To keep her competitive edge, she has had to be on a strict daily routine, a highly regimented workout schedule, a near-sacramental sleeping ritual and meal plans. Five days a week in spite of being a mother to a 2- year-old daughter, she has to be away from home and at the Kaptagat training camp.
“I only go home to her on the weekends. But we have employed a nanny to look after her,” says the mother of one. It is 9am Thursday and she has just come from a morning run, and is headed for an ice bath for recovery. On an average day, if she is not on the track honing her craft, then she will be on recovery, physical therapy, sleeping, eating or in the gym.
In 2018, Chepng’etich took a break, months into her first child’s pregnancy, after it was realised that her baby was in the wrong position, after five months of running while pregnant. The baby came on July 21, 2018, and she had to undergo a caesarean section during delivery. But barely a year later and before the baby could say ‘mama’ she had to be out of home and back at the Kaptagat runners’ camp amongst other elite athletes as she sought to revamp in the build-up to the defense of her 1500m title at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
Working her way up again, she says, was painful. “It was like starting all over again. I had to start with short 30-minute jogs and slowly build up speed. She came up in position two at the Doha Championships.
“It is not easy being away from my baby. I need that bond with her but I also have a demanding career….and I also want to give her a better life than my own parents could afford to give me.”
Life was hard for Chepng’etich growing up. “We lived a life of struggle. We did not miss meals. But life wasn’t comfortable either. So now being able to actually earn millions out of running is quite something. I don’t want my daughter to live the life of suffering that I had to endure. That’s why I have to stay away,” she quips.
“While upholding the physical strength and ability for the sport is hard enough, it’s keeping the focus alive that is the hardest, and it is hard to focus at home with the constant demands of a young child,” she says.
Faith Chepngetich(084) leads Winny Chebet(right) Quakine Kiprop(089) Sela Jepleting(088) and Judy Jepngetich (090)during 1500m women finals in the World Championships trials held at Nyayo
“I could stay with her at home but then she also needs a good life in future. And everything nowadays is about money…,” she trails off. The trim, and chirpy athlete, has had an impeccable championship record, on top of the array of gold and silver medals to her name, since she started running, making her unquestionably one of the world’s leading women at 1500m of her time.
Chepng’etich is married to another athlete and middle distance runner, Timothy Kitum, the 2012 Olympic 800m bronze medalist, who serves away in an army camp in Nyeri. She has also since relocated to Eldoret, her husband’s hometown.
She started running competitively at age 12, and had already qualified for international races by 15 but she was too young that in 2009 she was dropped out of the national team going to the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and later that year the 2009 World Junior Championships Canada. “I was told I was still very young to go to Canada. But all this did not make me lose hope. It had been confirmed that I had the talent it took to compete on the international arena. And I decided to work even harder. I had my mind set. And in 2010 I made the team to Poland for the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.”
“I knew that even though my father who had been runner before me had not brought much to the table from his running, I could,” she said. “Now my dad pushes me.”
“My full focus right now is on the upcoming Olympics. I’m working towards defending my title in the 1500m race. But eventually I want to upgrade to the 5000m, 10,000m and towards road running and marathon races in future, and have started training with the long distance runners at Kaptagat,” she says noting, “You really can’t stay long in speed distance. When you progress well, your coach always tells you what is next for you.” BY DAILY NATION
