Faith Kipyegon to star in inaugural women’s mile race in Oregon
Kenya’s all-conquering track queen Faith Kipyegon will headline an elite list of athletes at the Eugene leg of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League.
The competition organisers announced the women’s one-mile race will take place for the very first time during the Eugene leg, with the multiple world champion winner among the stars set to participate.
The return of Faith
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“Five-time Wanda Diamond League champion Faith Kipyegon will return to the site of her most recent world record when she headlines the women’s mile at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on July 4, 2026,” a statement from the Wanda Diamond League stated on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
The race marks her return to the site of her most recent world record when she clocked 3:48.68 in the women’s 1500m in Eugene in 2025, setting a new world record at a Wanda Diamond League meeting for the fifth time in three seasons.
Kipyegon has held the mile world record since 2023, when she smashed Sifan Hassan’s previous record with 4:07.64 at a Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
Two races
In 2025, she made an audacious attempt to become the first woman ever to run the distance in less than four minutes.
Her win in the women’s 1500m back in 2025, World Athletics Championships, where she defended her title for the fourth time, ranked among her most favourable moments.
“First, I want to really thank God; this has always been my dream, to defend my 1500m title for the fourth time. Everyone out there was so talented; I knew I had to dig deeper than ever. Crossing that line and realising I had won again was truly special. But what made it even greater was seeing my teammates right there, too, gold and silver for Kenya. Such a proud moment for all of us,” Kipyegon said on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.
Other than the ninth leg of the Diamond League race in Eugene, Oregon, Faith will also take on the 3000 m in Monaco on July 10, 2026, marking it as two events she will participate in for the year.
The leg begins in Doha on May 8, 2026, and ends at the two-day series final in Brussels on September 4-5, 2026.
