Triple Olympic women’s 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon has denied claims that she was disappointed with her silver medal in the Olympic 5,000m race.
In an interview with Citizen TV, Kipyegon explained that while she initially did not believe she would be disqualified, she felt disappointed when the announcement was made.
She clarified that her disappointment stemmed from not understanding what she had done wrong and the overwhelming thoughts she had at that moment.
“I didn’t think I’d be disqualified. I was not disappointed for getting the silver medal. I was disappointed for being disqualified without knowing what wrong I did. That 5,000m race got a lot into my mind,” Kipyegon said.
The Olympic record holder, however, said that she was grateful for the team that appealed successfully.
She said the appeal rejuvenated her and that is when she knew that she had to go for gold in the 1,500m race.
“I thank the team and I am very grateful for those who appealed and were successful it really re-energised my strength to know that with the silver we now have to go for the gold.”
During the games, Kipyegon fell a few seconds short of a Gold medal after she came in second to win a Silver, in the 5,000m race.
Kenyan Beatrice Chebet won the race.
The silver, however, did not come short of controversy after she was initially disqualified for shoving Ethiopian athlete Tsegay Gudaf.
Kipyegon was disqualified under Rule TR17.2.2 (163.2 (b)) on jostling or obstruction (O/S).
The law suggests that any athlete who jostles, pushes or obstructs another athlete during a race could be disqualified by the applicable Referee on the report of an umpire.
Team Kenya appealed the decision to disqualify her and was reinstated.
