Faith Kipyegon revealed that she has been battling a hamstring injury since May and dealing with an unexpectedly slower recovery.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Kipyegon mentioned the previously undisclosed injury and the setback she now faces heading into the rest of the year.
“I know that taking care of it now is the most important thing I can do to come back at my best,” Kipyegon said in the post. “So for now, I will take the time to heal, recover and get stronger.”
Kipyegon, 32, has seen limited action on the track this season and likely competed while injured.
She soared to a 14:24.14 world lead in the women’s 5,000m at the first Diamond League meeting of the season in Shanghai on May 16 around the same time of the injury.
Weeks later at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on July 4, she took third in the women’s mile in 4:17.80 season’s best but was outkicked by Nikki Hiltz in the closing moments.
A week later she appeared at the Monaco Diamond League and finished fourth in the women’s 3,000m in 8:24.21.
“As athletes, we ask a lot from our bodies,” Kipyegon said in her post. “There is always a thin line between being fit and the risk of injury.”
Kipyegon gave no exact timeline of when she expected to return to competition but her 2026 season is effectively over, according to her agent. She received an automatic qualifier for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September as an Olympic champion in the women’s 1,500m at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The rare injury means that Kipyegon will not compete deep into the season like the past two years when she appeared at the Athlos showcase in New York in 2024 and 2025, where she won the mile at both events.
