Paris Olympics gold medalists Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet meet legendary Billie Jean King after receiving Academy of Achievement Award

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Sep 24, 2024 15:49 GMT

Kenyan track and field athletes Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet recently met with tennis Hall of Fame inductee and former WTA No. 1 Billie Jean King. This encounter took place shortly after the two Kenyan athletes were honored with the Academy of Achievement Award on Sunday, September 22.

Both Kipyegon and Chebet clinched gold medals for Kenya at the 2024 Paris Olympics. While Kipyegon clinched the third gold medal of her career in the 1500m event, Chebet, making her Olympic debut, bagged two gold medals in the 5000m and 10000m events.

Recognizing their exceptional Olympic performances, Kipyegon and Chebet were honored with the Academy of Achievement Award on Sunday by Kenyan President William Ruto in New York. It was during this New York event that Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet met the 12-time Grand Slam (singles) winner, Billie Jean King.

Kipyegon shared a picture with the former WTA No. 1 on her official X (formerly Twitter) handle, expressing her admiration for King's significant impact on women's sports. The 30-year-old Kenyan athlete praised King's contributions to the circuit.

"A special moment! Met the legendary @BillieJeanKing. She’s been a great inspiration, not just to me, but to women in sports around the world!" she wrote.

Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet clinched top podium finishes at the 2024 Diamond League finals

Kipyegon at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Image via Getty Images)

Following a successful 2024 Paris Olympics, Kenyan track and field athletes Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet continued their impressive performances in the recently concluded 2024 Diamond League finals in Brussels.

Kipyegon, coming off a victory in the Rome Diamond League meet, won the 1500m event after clocking a meet record run time of 3:54.75. She defeated the 2023 World Championships silver medalist, Diribe Welteji, and Paris Olympics silver medalist Jessica Hull to successfully defend her Diamond League title.

Following her victory in the Diamond League finals, the 30-year-old revealed she was not aiming for the world record in Brussels and just wanted to finish off her 2024 Diamond League season on a high note. She said (via Wanda Diamond League):

"It was a good race and I really thank God for that. The world record was not on my mind today. My goal was to finish my Diamond League season in a good way and I did. It was a good race, but definitely not an easy one."

Chebet also secured her fourth Diamond League victory of the season in Brussels by setting a new meet record in the 5000m event. The 24-year-old registered a run time of 14:09.82 to beat Ethiopia's Medina Eisa and Fotyen Tesfay, who eventually finished in the second and third positions with run times of 14:21.89 and 14:28.53.