Faith Kipyegon didn’t owe us anything.
The 31-year-old Kenyan has spoiled running fans around the world time and time again for over a decade. She’s set two world records, won three consecutive Olympic 1500m gold medals and earned six World Championships medals. One could rightfully look at her career and say that she didn’t need to accomplish anything else to cement her legacy.
But who other than Kipyegon would be confident enough to take on the pressure? To carry the load of trying to eclipse the ‘impossible barrier’ that people once thought that no human could? Of course she would be the one to dare to try. Kipyegon would become the first woman to chase the sub-4-minute mile.
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Over 2,000 men have run a mile under four minutes in the years since Roger Bannister first achieved the feat in 1954. No woman has ever come closer than Kipyegon, who set the mile world record of 4:07.64 in Monaco in 2023 and ran a 1,500m world record of 3:49.04 last year. Just by committing to the sub-4-minute mile attempt and seeing it through on Thursday, Kipyegon continued down a historic path that she’s been paving throughout her whole career – even though she came up well short of the goal time.
At the Stade Charléty on Thursday evening, Kipyegon raced to a 4:06.42 mile effort as part of the Breaking4 endeavour, which was supported by her sponsor, Nike. Decked out in an aerodynamic kit, encompassing a tailor-made speed suit, a 3D-printed sports bra and custom Victory Elite FK spikes, Kipyegon maintained sub-4 pace for the first two laps before falling off the mark in the closing half-mile.
Aiding Kipyegon as she raced against the clock was an elite pacing crew of 13 Nike-sponsored athletes, including Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Bell and fellow Brit and world medallist Jemma Reekie.
The pacing group stepped aside in the final 100m to let Kipyegon have her moment, even though the sub-4 dream had slipped away. Once she crossed the finish line, Kipyegon collapsed to the ground before quickly getting back up, wearing her signature smile on her face. She took a victory lap for the small, cheering crowd at the Stade Charléty, with a Kenyan flag draped over her shoulders.
‘I’m exhausted. But I feel good that I tried,’ said Kipyegon on Nike’s Breaking4 livestream following the attempt. ‘That’s why I was coming here, (to) try to be the first woman to run under four minutes – but I’ve proven that it’s possible. It’s only a matter of time, but I think that it will come our way. If it’s not me, it will be someone, someday.’
Kipyegon shaved 1.22 seconds off her previous best of 4:07.64, although her latest time in Paris is not eligible to be ratified as a world record. No other woman has ever broken 4:08 for the mile, with former world record holder Sifan Hassan still sitting at number two on the all-time list for the mile at 4:12.33.
But let’s forget about the clock.
When approached by Nike to participate in this project, Kipyegon could have easily declined. The premier track and field competition of the year – the World Championships in Tokyo – is still two months away. Alhough she said in a press conference a week prior to the attempt that she didn’t change her typical training routine much, she surely had to alter her schedule in some way to peak for sub-4 fitness in June.
Kipyegon risked a lot for a single time trial – her body, her mind, her season. But she runs selflessly. She runs for her daughter, Alyn. She runs for other young girls around the world who want to push their own limits. She runs for her country. On Thursday, Kipyegon challenged herself for the benefit of everyone else.
Yes, she finished over six seconds short. But if you look at it like a glass half full, that’s a second closer to sub-4. Who knows – maybe we’ll see Kipyegon try to break the barrier again at some point, similar to how her mentor Eliud Kipchoge took two attempts to break two hours in the marathon. It took Diane Leather, the first woman to run under five minutes in the mile, two tries before finally achieving her goal in 1954. This Paris trial may just mark the beginning.
I’m sure that the young girls around the globe who saw Kipyegon’s attempt won’t feel disappointed that she fell short. They’re unlikely to remember 4:06.42. But, they will remember watching the strong woman digging deep on their screens – and they’ll dream of growing up to be like her.
Throughout the entire Breaking4 project, Kipyegon referenced chasing dreams. But Kipyegon has dared to dream her whole life. Her journey began growing up in Ndababit, Kenya, where she ran four kilometres to school and back each day. She started competing on the international stage at just 16 years old – and she did so barefoot. That barefoot runner evolved into a middle-distance force on the track. She became a mother in 2018 and grew even stronger in motherhood, winning seven of her 10 Olympic and World Championships medals since giving birth to her daughter.
Sub-4 is still a dream. But maybe it’s slightly closer to becoming reality.
Kipyegon was always the GOAT – and she still is. The sub-4-minute mile club still beckons for a woman to join and I’m confident that it will happen eventually. All thanks to a little bit of Faith.
