Faith Kipyegon

If you have that pain, it's success

I didn't know I would come out strong today, after what I went through over the 5,000," Kipyegon said. "I didn't sleep until yesterday."

Many people benefited from that gold medal

The dream is just to get that gold medal…bring that gold medal home

I have been performing for many years and getting the gold medals

How I started athletics was like magic or something. I started when I was in primary school, back at home, where I used to do training in the school

I won my first gold medal as a mum, after coming back from maternity leave. I was running with experience and at the same time [for] people back at home, especially my daughter. [Motherhood] changed me a lot, mentally.

I used to play football, gymnastics. After that we got a teacher [who] introduced us to running. I started running and knowing that athletics might [get] me somewhere

It’s the love of the sport. Wanting to inspire the young generation and the young girls around the world, that you can also take athletics as a profession. Going out there running early in the morning and going to camps, staying there, from Monday to Saturday

I want to do my best and motivate the young girls and young women to know that Faith has come a long way, and she’s still performing at the Olympic level and getting these medals, especially the gold medal.

Because we as athletes take what we have given by God [as] our talent. To inspire the young generation and upcoming athletes to know that if you take it seriously, it can put you on another level in the world.

I want to do this for my country. I want to do this for myself. I want to do this for the next young girl to know that if a young girl can win a gold medal, why not us

My village got electricity after that

If you are in training, and you don't feel pain, next thing you are going to a race, and you don’t perform good. But if you have that pain, it's a success. So, you feel pain today, I think it will be a successful tomorrow to achieve what you have been feeling pain [for].

My focus is to defend my Olympic title in Tokyo...It was a really good race here (Kasarani Stadium near Nairobi), which I really wanted to win. I know I will meet many good athletes in Tokyo but I have prepared really well.