Three-time world 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon boosted her bank balance by another Ksh10 million following her golden victory at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Tuesday.
Kipyegon asserted her authority yet again as the greatest 1,500m runner in history when she put up a dominant display to claim gold, the first for Kenya in Budapest, in a time of 3: 554.87 after destroying a strong field of 12 women drawn from four continents.
Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia was second in 3:55.69 with Dutchwoman and Kipyegon track nemesis Sifan Hassan completing the podium after clocking 3:56.00.
It was the third gold medal at the World Championships over the distance for the 29-year-old who also claimed victories in London 2017 and Eugene 2022 and it adds to what has been a remarkable season when she has broken three world records in three different races.
Her win will see her pocket $70,000 (Ksh10,026,261) which is the prize reserved to gold medallists in Budapest where athletes who finish in the top eight are rewarded between $70,000 and $5,000 (Ksh716,161).
Kipyegon has a chance to walk away with Ksh20 million from Budapest if she wins the women’s 5,000m final on Saturday.
This is in addition to the over Ksh25 million that she has already earned from smashing three world records in the Diamond League this season.
Diamond League races have a prize pool of $25,000 (Ksh3.5 million) of which $10,000 (Ksh1.4 million) goes to the race winner, then there is a bigger reward of $50,000 (Ksh7.1 million) the minimum bonus awarded for breaking a World Record.
It means for her world records in Florence (1,500m), Paris (5,000m) and Monaco (Mile), Kipyegon earned at least $180,000 (Ksh25,576,861), a combined $150,000 (Ksh21,314,051) for her three world records and $30,000 (Ksh4,262,810) for coming first in the three races.
