Faith Kipyegon And Yaroslava Mahuchikh Break World Records At The Paris Diamond League

This past weekend, two world records fell at the Paris Diamond League, one of which stood for 37 years.

These historical marks ahead of the Olympics is building confidence for all competitors as they continue to prepare for the most difficult tasks of the their lives.

Faith Kipyegon Lowers Her World Record In the 1500-Meters

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time world record holder Faith Kipyegon arrived in Paris on a mission. The Kenyan athlete competed at the Paris Diamond League, where she lowered her world record in the 1500-meters from 3:49.11 to 3:49.04.

After finishing her historic run, Kipyegon said in an interview that she knew running the world record again was within her reach.

“I knew the world record was possible because I recently ran very fast in Kenya,” said Kipyegon. “I was coming here to just run my race and to see what shape I’m in to defend my title at the Olympics.”

At the Kenyan Olympic Trials, Kipyegon went 3:53.98. That was the first time Kipyegon raced all season. For various reasons, other legendary athletes such as Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce and Athing Mu took their time opening up their seasons. Collectively, all three of these women showed that taking your time to compete should not worry fans.

Kipyegon’s historical feat made this race special for nearly all her competitors. Second place was Australia’s Jessica Hull, who had a five-second personal best to set a new Australian record. Hull’s time of 3:50.83 puts her at number five on the all-time list. Laura Muir finished third in 3:53.79, which became the new British record.

Ten of the 15 competitors set personal bests during the race, and two more women had season bests below four minutes. Kipyegon proved that the best is yet to come, with the Olympics less than 20 days away.

Yaroslava Mahuchikh Rewrites High Jump History

At just 22 years old, Ukrainian athlete Yaroslava Mahuchikh broke the high jump world record that stood for 37 years. Mahuchikh jumped 2.10 meters, which is 6 feet 10.75 inches. High jumpers typically have three attempts to clear a height before moving on or being knocked out of the competition. Mahuchikh cleared this historical height on her first attempt.

Going into the meet Mahuchikh said she knew something special could happen.

“Coming into this competition, I had feelings that I could jump 2.07 meters and maybe 2.10 meters,” said Mahuchikh. “Finally, I signed Ukraine to the history of World Athletics.”

Mahuchikh had not jumped higher than 2.04 meters since January of this year. Before Sunday, her lifetime best was 2.06 meters. Mahuchikh’s self-confidence is warranted due to her almost picture-perfect season. She’s only lost one high jump competition in 2024. At the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March, Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers beat Mahuchikh by only .02 meters. Olyslagers is the reigning Olympic silver medalist.

Olyslagers and Mahuchikh will meet again in several weeks to face off for the Olympic gold medal.

Djamel Sedjati Runs Second Fastest 800-Meter Of All Time

Djamel Sedjati and Emmanuel Wanyonyi arrived in Paris with undefeated 800-meter seasons. One of their winning streaks was destined to fall Sunday, but both would not go down without a fight.

Their race began with a pacemaker who was instructed to lead the group through the first lap in under 50 seconds. The men completed their first lap in 49.78 seconds, which was sure to result in a race that hadn’t been seen since the days of 800-meter world record holder David Rudisha.

Wanyonyi led until there were 100 meters to go. Sedjati activated his legendary kick to get the best of Wanyonyi through the last few meters. European Championship gold medalist Gabriel Tual got into the mix by surging to third place on the final stretch.

Sedjati won the race in 1:41.56, only .02 seconds ahead of Wanyonyi. Tual was close behind them both, running 1:41.61.

The Paris Diamond League produced arguably one of the deepest 800-meter fields in history. This was the first time any 800-meter race had three men run under 1:42 and six men under 1:43.

Sedjati was only .02 seconds off Rudisha’s meet record from 2012. He is confident going into the Paris Olympics that he has what it takes to run faster. Deciding the Olympic podium has become increasingly difficult for yet another event.

With less than a month to go, the Paris Olympics will likely be unpredictable in many events. Although some athletes have demonstrated they are miles ahead of their competitors, their historical feats are pushing those who could only dream of achieving certain goals to new heights.

No matter the outcome, the Paris Diamond League is proof the Olympics will be magical.