Gold: Faith Kipyegon (Kenya)
Silver: Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia)
Bronze: Jenny Simpson (United States)
Faith Kipyegon won the women’s 1500m gold medal Tuesday night in 4 minutes, 8.92 seconds. Kipyegon, a 22-year-old Kenyan, is listed at 5-foot-2.
On the final lap, Kipyegon passed Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba, who claimed the silver medal. It was the first Olympic medal for Dibaba, the 1500m world record holder. She is following in the footsteps of her older sisters, Tirunesh and Ejegayehu. Tirunesh won her sixth Olympic medal in Rio, a bronze medal in the 10,000m. Ejegayehu was the 2004 Olympic 10,000m silver medalist.
Jenny Simpson earned the bronze medal, becoming the first U.S. woman to ever win an Olympic medal in the event. Fellow American Shannon Rowbury, a native of San Francisco, finished fourth.
The men’s 1500m semifinals will be held Thursday at 7:45 p.m. ET, followed by the final Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET. Jakub Holusa of the Czech Republic was the fastest in the first round. American Matthew Centrowitz was fourth in the event in London.
