The mom chasing Olympic gold

CGTN Europe

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon wasn’t sure she could win  after giving birth to her daughter. Now, she says her little girl is the reason she’s a champion.   The middle-distance star has two Olympic titles to her name - not to mention three world records  She’ll be aiming to make her daughter proud in Paris.   CGTN’s Michael Marillier has the story.   #paris2024 #olympics #kenya #kipyegon

Transcript

00:00Faith Kipiagon is a superstar on and off the track. The Kenyan won gold in the 1500m at the

00:062016 Olympics. She then defended her title at the Tokyo Games in 2021. And she just seems to get

00:14better with time. Kipiagon was nominated as the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year in 2023.

00:21She set three world records in less than 50 days, breaking the record for the 1500m,

00:27the mile and 5000m. She was also crowned World Track Athlete of the Year. That's her

00:35with her trophy. And she really sums it up in that post, saying today is a beautiful closure

00:41of an amazing year for me. Kipiagon's story is not just about records. She became a mother in 2018,

00:49giving birth to her daughter Aline. There she is on her fifth birthday. Kipiagon has admitted she

00:55wasn't sure she could return to her best after having a child. But she managed to defend her

01:01Olympic title. And she says Aline inspired her to keep winning. She's now a symbol for female

01:07athletes around the world. And she's not afraid to speak up. This was her message on International

01:13Women's Day. Becoming a mother did not make me less ambitious. Kipiagon is also a role model

01:19in her home country. One of Kenya's major newspapers named her Person of the Year,

01:26splashing her image across its front page. She even met with President William Ruto after breaking

01:33those records. And of course, little Aline tagged along, taking center stage on the red carpet.

01:40Kenya loves Kipiagon, but Kipiagon also loves Kenya. She posts lots of pictures of her training

01:46sessions back home. And very often she's running on a dirt track. You really get the sense that

01:51she's passionate about her sport and her country. Now, Kenya has been in turmoil in recent weeks

01:57with people hitting the streets to protest tax hikes. It could do with some good news.

02:02And you can be certain Kipiagon's fans will keep the faith.

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