The 1000m world record has been standing for over 24 years. In 1996 Svetlana Masterkova produced a masterful run to set the fastest kilometre of all time at the 20th edition of the AG Memorial Van Damme.
The 44th edition will take place on Friday and will feature an attempt to break that record. Enter Faith Kipyegon, the reigning 1500m Olympic champion.
Kipyegon put her career on hold in 2018 to give birth to her daughter Alun. Last year she returned with a silver medal at the Doha world championships. “I am really happy to be here in Brussels,” Kipyegon said on Wednesday. “A couple of weeks ago I came within 0:17 of the world record in Monaco, but due to the coronacrisis, which is also happening in Kenya, I didn’t have an optimal preparation.”
“After Monaco I went back home to Kenya to train specifically on speed the past few weeks. I have a lot of confidence for Friday’s race."
In Monaco the world record attempt was supported by Wavelight technology, which will also be installed in Brussels. “Wavelight is a moving light signal around the track that shows exactly how fast runners have to go to stay on a certain pace, in this case the world record pace,” Wavelight managing director and former 800m runner Bram Som explained.
Faith Kipyegon is very excited by the addition of the Wavelight system, which will be supplemented by several pacemakers. “The light will guide me to the world record,” she pledged.
The Wavelight will be used at the AG Memorial Van Damme during the women’s 100 metres, the men’s 1500 metres and all world record attempts. Find out more about Wavelight at wavelight.live.
