Faith Kipyegon receives honorary Doctorate from Kenyan University after Paris Olympics heroics

By Abhishek Rathore

Modified Nov 21, 2024 18:18 GMT

Kenya's distance running icon Faith Kipyegon has received an honorary doctorate in education from the University of Eldoret. Kipyegon earned a historic third successive gold medal at this year's Olympic Games in August.

On Thursday, November 21, the 30-year-old athlete was invited to the university's 13th graduation ceremony, where she was awarded the honorary degree, also known as "Honoris Causa." This accomplishment officially makes her Dr. Faith Kipyegon. The Vice Chancellor of the Institution, Professor Thomas Cheruiyot, presented a citation highlighting the most notable achievements of her career. At the same time, the University's Chancellor, Dr. Ismail Buro, honored her by placing the graduation cap on her.

In her acceptance speech, the three-time Olympic champion expressed her appreciation for the honor and stated:

"As the first female recipient of this honorary degree here at the University of Eldoret, I am truly grateful for this recognition."

Kipyegon also posted pictures from the graduation ceremony on her X handle (formerly Twitter) and wrote:

"Dr. Faith Kipyegon. I am greatly honored to receive an honorary Doctorate degree in Education from The University of Eldoret."

This August, the world record holder scripted history at the Paris Olympics by winning the 1500m gold medal for a remarkable third consecutive time. She won the race in a new Olympic record time of 3:51.29 and became the first female athlete to secure three Olympic gold medals in a single-track domain. In addition, the Bomet native earned a silver medal in the 5000m event, narrowly missing the gold to compatriot Beatrice Chebet by just 1.04 seconds.

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"Want to do my best and motivate the young girls" - Faith Kipyegon on her legacy

Faith Kipyegon at the Athlos NYC (Source: Getty)

During an interview with Olympics.com in August, Kipyegon expressed that she aims to inspire young girls through her medal winning achievements.

"I have been performing for many years and getting the gold medals. I want to do my best and motivate the young girls and young women to know that Faith has come a long way, and she’s still performing at the Olympic level and getting these medals, especially the gold medal."

Opening up on the beginning of her athletics career, the Kenyan icon shared that she initially pursued gymnastics and football and described her transition to track and field as nothing short of magical.

"How I started athletics was like magic or something. I started when I was in primary school, back at home, where I used to do training in the school. I used to play football, gymnastics. After that we got a teacher [who] introduced us to running. I started running and knowing that athletics might [get] me somewhere," she said,

Besides her Olympic triumphs, Faith Kipyegon had a historic Diamond League season highlighted by breaking her own 1500m world record at the Paris meet.