Faith Kipyegon of Kenya won the 1,500 meters and retained her Olympic title as Sifan Hassan’s chase for three gold medals withered in her fifth of six races at the Tokyo Games.

Kipyegon won in an Olympic-record time of 3 minutes, 53.11 seconds. Laura Muir of Britain took the silver in 3:54.50 and Hassan clung on for bronze after she started fading on the back straight.

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Hassan already has a gold in the 5,000 meters and could still complete a rare set if she wins a third medal in the 10,000-meter final on Saturday.

Hassan took everyone by surprise by running at the front almost from the start in the 1,500 when her previous tactics in Tokyo had been to stay at or near the back of the field for most of the race and burst home on the last lap.

Hassan won all four of her races in Tokyo before the 1,500 using those tactics.

Vanguard News Nigeria