Olympics-Athletics-Kenya's Kipyegon jubilant after historic 1,500m hat-trick

By Helen Reid

PARIS (Reuters) -Kenya's Faith Kipyegon was over the moon after winning her third straight Olympic 1,500 metres gold on Saturday, surging through the final lap to finish more than a second ahead of the field.

Kipyegon cemented her status as one of the all-time great middle-distance runners, becoming the first athlete to claim three successive Olympic 1,500m titles.

Australia's Jessica Hull took silver and Britain's Georgia Bell won bronze.

Kipyegon's time of three minutes 51.29 seconds broke the Olympic record, and she collapsed to the track, hands on her head in disbelief, after crossing the finish line.

"I was really looking forward to defending my title, and I had a dream. Amazing to me, I completed it. I'm so, so happy," she told reporters. "I managed to make history. I've done it."

Kipyegon's illustrious career belies her humble beginnings.

The eighth of nine children growing up on a farm in Kenya's Rift Valley, Kipyegon competed barefoot in her first world cross country championships as a 16-year-old, finishing fourth.

Realising she had a talent for running and that athletics could provide her a career, she threw herself into competition and the 30-year-old has now amassed six world championship and four Olympic medals.

Saturday's win was redemption for the athlete after she nearly lost her silver medal in the 5,000m on Monday. She was initially disqualified after the race saw her get into an altercation with Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay, but that was overturned.

"I didn't know I would come out strong today, after what I went through over the 5,000," Kipyegon said. "I didn't sleep until yesterday."

Kipyegon and Tsegay met again on Saturday.

Kipyegon, who broke her own 1,500m world record a month ago, spent much of the race in second place behind Tsegay but powered ahead with a lap to go and built an untouchable lead.

Tsegay, world champion over 10,000m, faded suddenly and fell back to cross the line last.

Both Hull and Bell dug deep on the home straight, finding the strength to overtake Ethiopia's Diribe Welteji. Hull clocked 3:52.56 and Bell crossed in 3:52.61, a national record and four seconds quicker than her previous best time.

Hull, who has the fifth-fastest time ever over the distance, said she envisioned the race as a battle.

"I was like, 'I’m not going to be the one going home without a medal'," she said.

Bell, 30, delivered a stunning Olympic debut to win bronze after her training partner Keely Hodgkinson took 800m gold earlier in the week.

"I just thought, 'Don't let the gap open up,' and I hoped I'd be able to finish strong," she said. "That's what I was really trying to do, just dig deep."

(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Ed Osmond)