Faith Kipyegon/ FILEKipyegon headlines a star-studded women’s 5,000m field in Shanghai, seeking to gauge her strength and stamina ahead of a demanding 2026 campaign.
The five-time Diamond League final 1,500m champion said she is delighted to return to China for her season opener.
“It’s great to be back here in China for my season opener,” said the three-time 1,500m Olympic champion. “It feels great to start the season with endurance and not going straight to the 1,500m."
“I chose to do the 5,000m just to see where my endurance is,” she said.
Despite carrying the weight of expectation, Kipyegon downplayed any talk of chasing fast times in her opening outing of the year.
“I am hoping for the best in the race. Running in a beautiful stadium like this gives you morale that anything is possible,” she said. “And since I am starting the season, I just want to see how the body responds.”
The marquee target for Kipyegon this year remains the inaugural World Ultimate Championships, with the Kenyan legend keen to maintain her dominance while exploring longer distances.
“The big goal is the World Ultimate Championships and just to remain consistent and see what I still have in the tank for the track,” she said. “I’m moving slowly. Now I’m doing the 5,000m. I don’t know what’s next, but I want to enjoy everything this year.”
Kipyegon’s resume over the 5,000m remains formidable despite being best known for her mastery of the three-lap race.
She made her debut over the distance in 2015 at the Paris Meeting, finishing seventh in 14:44.51.
Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba (14:15.41), Almaz Ayana (14:21.97) and Kenya's Mercy Cherono (14:34.10) clinched the podium places. However, it was in 2023 that Kipyegon unleashed her potential over 12-and-a-half-laps.
In June that year, she stormed to victory at the Paris Diamond League, obliterating the then world record with a scintillating 14:05.20 performance.
Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey (14:07.94) and Ejgayehu Taye (14:13.31) followed in her slipstream.
Two months later, Kipyegon delivered another masterclass at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, powering to gold in 14:53.88 ahead of Dutch star Sifan Hassan (14:54.11) and Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet (14:54.33).
In 2024, she added Olympic silver in Paris after crossing the line in 14:29.60 behind Chebet (14:28.56), while Hassan completed the podium in 14:30.61.
At last year’s World Championships in Tokyo, Kipyegon added another silver medal to her glittering collection after timing 14:55.07, once again behind Chebet, who won in 14:54.36.
The Kenyan star has already laid a solid base for her track season with a commanding performance on the roads, storming to victory in a 10km race in Monaco in 29:47.
Britain’s Maddie Jordan-Lee finished second in 34:24, while Augustine Emeraux-Lombard completed the podium in 34:50.
Joining Kipyegon in Shanghai are debutant Maurine Chebor and 2022 African Championships 10,000m champion Caroline Nyaga.
Chebor launched her 2026 season in the gruelling cross-country circuit after earning national selection for the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida, on January 10.
She finished eighth in the senior women’s 10km race in 33:06 before enduring another difficult outing at the Sirikwa Classic, where she placed ninth in 34:41.
Her most recent race came in Nijmegen, Netherlands, where she finished third in a 5km road race in 15:15, behind Rwanda’s Emeline Imanizabayo (15:07) and Finn Ilona Mononen (15:10).
Nyaga, meanwhile, will be opening her 2026 campaign in Shanghai and will be eager to make a strong statement after wrapping up her 2025 season with a ninth-place finish at the Valencia Half Marathon in 1:08:40.
