Faith Kipyegon breaks 1500m record as Jess Hull takes bronze at Prefontaine Classic

Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull produced a trademark gutsy performance as a Kenyan superstar made history, and Lachlan Kennedy got the biggest start of his career.

Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull has finished third in the fastest 1500m race in history behind Kenyan superstar Faith Kipyegon.

The Australian produced her trademark gutsy performance to hang with Kipyegon while most of the field dropped away at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, further solidifying her reputation as one of the best middle-distance runners in the world.

Kipyegon, who has won the past three Olympic gold medals, powered away over the final 200m to clock 3min48.68sec, bettering her previous world mark of 3:49.04sec.

Nothing short of epic 🤩

Watch Faith Kipyegon storm to another 1500m world record 🤯

⏱️ 3:48.68#DiamondLeaguepic.twitter.com/dYb5S1YcZb

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) July 5, 2025

Hull, 28, was third in 3:52.67sec. It was a return home for the Australian who made her name as a collegiate star at the Hayward Field track for the University of Oregon.

“I was actually surprised how easily I got my position, To get the position right off the line was super nice, and then I just tried to stay relaxed,” Hull said.

“Then I felt Faith, she put her foot down and made it really hard for that last 500 metres.

“This was the fastest 1500m I’ve been in all year, so it was definitely tough in that last 400, but I’m okay with that being tough at this point of the season.

“It was really important to get a really fast one under my belt and build from here.

“It’s pretty impressive what Faith can do, she’s set the benchmark now of where we need to be come Tokyo (world championships), so yeah, I’ll go back to work and try and get there.”

She’s done it again 🤩

Faith Kipyegon closes out the @nikepreclassic with a jaw-dropping 3:48.68 world record in the 1500m 😤

She lowers her own world record by .36 seconds almost exactly a year to the day after setting it 🐐#DiamondLeaguepic.twitter.com/xzUcn2Hqya

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) July 5, 2025

Canberra teenager Cam Myers continues to impress, finishing sixth in a stacked field in the storied Bowerman Mile in 3:47.50sec – just two hundredths of a second outside the national record he shares with Olli Hoare.

The 19-year-old is looking more and more comfortable mixing it with the world’s best with flying Dutchman Niels Laros (3:45.94sec) causing a major boilover by passing American Yared Nuguse in the shadow of the line.

Sprinter Lachlan Kennedy got the biggest start of his career, taking on an elite field in the 100m where he finished a creditable eighth in 10.07sec (+0.4).

The 21-year-old had been hampered by a back issue since he became just the second Australian to legally break the 10-second barrier with a flying 9.98sec in Kenya last month.

Jamaica’s Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson won in 9.85sec.

There was another world record in the 5000m with Kenya’s Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet becoming the first woman to break the 14-minute barrier, clocking a stunning 13:58.06sec.

Paris Olympics gold medallist Letsile Tebogo from Botswana, who kicked off his 2025 campaign at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne in March, won the men’s 200m in impressive style in 19.76sec.

The Diamond League series continues next week in Monaco where Gout Gout will make his debut in the U/23 200m while Peter Bol (800m), Kurtis Marschall (pole vault), Sarah Billings (1000m) and Hull (1000m) will also fly the Aussie flag.

Originally published as Faith Kipyegon breaks 1500m record as Jess Hull takes bronze at Prefontaine Classic