Female World Athlete of the Year Faith Kipyegon has turned 30, celebrating her birthday with stunning photos on social media.
An elated Kipyegon took to X, formerly Twitter, on January 10, sharing her photos captioned ‘it’s my birthday’.
The photos showed Kipyegon dressed in beautiful African kitenge outsits that wowed people.
Here are the photos;
She also wore an African-design crown, and wristband, not forgetting her favourite Kenyan wristband.
The 30-year-old set world records at an incredible three distances during a season in which she also achieved a golden double at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.
Kipyegon improved the world 1500m record to 3:49.11 in Florence, taking almost a full second off the previous mark. Just one week later, and despite having raced the 5000m just twice before, she improved the world record for that event, too, clocking 14:05.20 in Paris to shave 1.42 seconds from the old record.
Her third world record came in Monaco, where she smashed the previous mile mark by five seconds, clocking 4:07.64. Then, in Budapest, she won her third senior world 1500m title and her first world 5000m crown.
Kipyegon’s achievements in athletics
During 2023 Jamhuri Day Celebrations, President William Ruto awarded Kipyegon with the highest state honour, the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya (EGH), for breaking two world records in a year.
Kipyegon also made the list of the top trending searches by Kenyans at number six after she won the World Athletics Championships 1500m and 5000m titles, completing a remarkable distance double and becoming the first woman ever to complete a 1,500-5,000 meters double at the World Championships.
In December, 2023, the athlete was voted the Star Person of the Year, an annual award that recognizes remarkable people in the country who have made an impact in society.
In response to being named the Star Person of the Year, Kipyegon expressed her joy in breaking world records in 2023, adding that ‘the achievements were manifestations of goals she wrote down at the beginning of the year’.
Kenyans, including Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika, and athletics enthusiasts around the world celebrated Kipyegon’s achievements following her breaking three world records.