Faith Kipyegon Speaks Out on 5000m Final Clash with Gudaf Tsegay
The women’s 5000m final at the Paris Olympics drew significant attention, particularly due to the competition between Faith Kipyegon and Gudaf Tsegay.
Beatrice Chebet’s victory was eclipsed by the drama surrounding Kipyegon’s disqualification and subsequent reinstatement.
Following her advancement to the women’s 1500m semi-final, the double Olympic champion shared her thoughts on the incident.
The 5000m event featured Kipyegon, Chebet, Sifan Hassan, Gudaf Tsegay, and several other Ethiopian competitors.
The clash between Kipyegon and Tsegay occurred with two laps remaining, impacting Tsegay, who ended up in ninth place with a time of 14:45.21.
Kipyegon secured second place with a time of 14:29.60 after being outpaced by her compatriot Chebet in the final meters.
Shortly after celebrating her silver medal, it was announced that Kipyegon had been disqualified for obstruction, according to Athletics Weekly.
Outraged, Kenyans demanded the medal be returned to Kipyegon. After more than an hour, she was reinstated and awarded the silver medal.
Her longtime competitor, Sifan Hassan, claimed the bronze, while Nadia Battocletti of Italy finished fourth and Kenya’s Margaret Chelimo placed fifth, per Olympics.com.
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Kipyegon entered the race as the world champion, with Tsegay holding the world record. Kenya last won the 5000m Olympic title in 2016, thanks to Vivian Cheruiyot.
Kipyegon addresses 5000m controversy
Speaking for the first time after the incident, Kipyegon said she is in a good mental state after the emotional rollercoaster.
“It was very hard…it was very hard for me. But, you know, you just accept the outcome…It’s tough, emotionally, more than physically sometimes.” via journalist Chris Chavez.
The Kenyan superstar added that she said the 5000m final is behind her, and the focus now shifts to the 1500m.
“I have no comment because you know this is sports and we accept the outcome and I have faith and I always participate in a good way. I believe in myself. So I can say it was a good race yesterday but a lot, a lot of pushing up and down, but all I know is it’s finished. Now I focus on the 1500m,” via journalist Chris Chavez.
Kipyegon is aiming for a third Olympic gold medal and will have to battle Tsegay again.
Reason Kipyegon was disqualified
Gossipa2z.com earlier explained why Kipyegon was disqualified from the 5000m final after winning a silver medal.
The Kenyan was disqualified for obstruction under the World Athletics Technical Rules-TR17.1.2.
Faith Kipyegon Speaks Out on 5000m Final Clash with Gudaf Tsegay
