Kenya’s last defeat at the distance was to Sifan Hassan in the Florence Diamond League in June 2021.
Faith Kipyegon finished her season in style with a 1500m victory at the inaugural ATHLOS NYC event in New York (September 26).
The 30-year-old won the tactical event in 4:04.79 at the Icahn Stadium and went unbeaten in the 1500m for the third consecutive year.
The last athlete to beat Kipeigon over 1500m was Sifan Hassan, and that happened at the Florence Diamond League in June 2021.
Since then, Kipyegon has won two world titles, become a three-time Olympic champion and bettered her own world record of 3:49.04.
Faith Kipyegon (Atlos)
In a much slower affair at ATLOS NYC, with athletes constantly looking over their shoulder to see who would take the first move home, the Kenyan was still never worried.
Kipyegon, with all that experience, controlled the race throughout and turned on the afterburners with around 200m to go.
Even the likes of Diribe Welteji and Gudaf Tsega couldn’t keep up with Kipyegon in the closing stages and they finished second and fourth respectively, with Britain’s Katie Snowden finishing sixth.
Kipyegon, like all the other winners, won the top prize of $60,000 and also received a Tiffany crown worth $25,000.
Brittany Brown (Atlos)
The athlete who did the best financially at the event was Brittany Brown, who collected a whopping $85,000 in prize money.
That’s because Brown finished second in the 100m and then beat favorite Gabby Thomas in the 200m heats to cap off an impressive night.
Brown, who won Olympic 200m bronze in Paris, clocked 22.18 to Thomas’ 22.21 and ran away from the gold medalist in the closing stages to win.
In the 100m Marie-José Ta Lou-Smith edged out Brown and the pair ran 10.98 and 11.05 respectively.
For Ta Lou-Smith, who pulled out of the Olympic 100m final in agony, it was the best possible way to end her season and she was a surprisingly popular winner in New York.
Britain’s Daryl Neita is fourth at ATHLOS NYC.
Marilid Paulino (Atlos)
The performance of the night undoubtedly came in the 400m as Marilydy Paulino dominated to win in 49.59.
The Olympic and reigning 400m world champion, who clocked a Games record of 48.17 at the Stade de France to finish fourth on the all-time list, looked a class apart at ATLOS NYC.
Paulino’s win was impressive not only because of the timing, but because of the caliber of athletes he beat.
The 27-year-old had to be at her best as the field included Alexis Holmes, Salwa Aid Nasser, Shamier Little, Liek Claver and Linna Irby-Jackson.
Holmes, who anchored the US women’s 4x400m to Olympic glory, was second in 49.99, while Aid Nasser, the 2019 world champion and Olympic 400m silver medalist from Paris, was third in 50.40.
Atlas
In the 800m, Olympic silver medalist Tsige Duguma edged out world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Mary Moraa.
Moraa, who won the Diamond League 800m in Brussels, had not lost more than two laps since the Paris Games.
However, it was clear that Duguma had the upper hand in the final 100m as he overtook Moraa to take the crown.
The pair clocked 1:57.43 and 1:58.05 in a heated battle in New York.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (Atlos)
The first event of the night was the 100m hurdles and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn clocked 12.36.
Camacho-Quinn, who is the reigning Olympic champion from Tokyo, was paired with reigning gold medalist Masai Russell in what was a highly anticipated clash ahead of ATLOS NYC.
The Puerto Rican had not lost a race since his bronze in Paris and kept that streak going in the Big Apple.
Russell, who later said he “wanted to complain” because of “a lot of vibration going on at the starting line,” finished third in 12.44.
Gabby Thomas and Alexis Ohanian (Getty)
Athletes competed at ATHLOS NYC in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 100m hurdles, 800m and 1500m.
The women-only invitation was organized by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. “Help inspire the next generation” and “promote women’s sports”.
The prize pool was also incredibly attractive to the athletes and far higher than what they received in the Diamond League this season. For example, the first place prize pool at ATHLOS NYC was $60,000. You won $30,000 for winning the Diamond League Finals in Brussels.
The ATLOS NYC wallet was: First place: $60,000; Second: $25,000; Third: $10,000; Fourth: $8,000, Fifth: $5,000; Sixth: $2,500.
As well as the action on the track, fans also enjoyed the spectacle off it with a host of celebrities and a performance by Grammy Award-winning artist Megan T. Stallion at the end of the night.
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