Kipyegon finished in 3:49.04, surpassing her record of 3:49.11, which was set in Italy last year.

Meanwhile, Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine set a world record in the women's high jump erasing a mark that stood for 37 years.

Mahuchikh, the reigning world champion, set a new best mark of 2.10 meters.

Kipyegon said she was aware of the possibility of better her mark.

“I knew the world record was possible because I recently ran very fast in Kenya,” said Kipyegon, who clocked 3:53.98 at Kenya's Olympic Trials.

“I was coming here to just run my race and to see what shape I'm in to defend my title at the Olympics.”

Nine other runners in the race achieved personal bests. Jessica Hull of Australia finished second in 3:50.83, smashing her own Oceania record by five seconds.

Laura Muir was third in a British record of 3:53.79.

The 30-year-old Kipyegon is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500, having won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021.

Before Sunday, she had only run twice in 2024, in the 1,500 and 5,000, to secure her spot for the Paris Olympics at the Kenyan trials in June.

Mahuchikh too admitted that she was eyeing a world record coming into this event.

“Coming into this competition, I had feelings that I could jump 2.07 meters and maybe 2.10 meters,” Mahuchikh said.

“Finally, I signed Ukraine to the history of world athletics.”

The previous record of 2.09 was set by Bulgaria's Stefka Kostadinova in Rome in 1987.

The 22-year-old Mahuchikh and world indoor champion Nicola Olyaslagers both cleared 2.01 meters on their second attempt.

After Olyslagers failed three times at 2.03, Mahuchikh cleared that height to secure victory.

She then cleared 2.07 meters to set a Ukrainian record and had the bar raised to 2.10, which she cleared on her first try.