Three-time Olympic gold medallist Faith Kipyegon has been selected to take up an extremely unique challenge in June 2025, as she is poised to become the first woman ever to run a sub-four-minute mile.
The event, sponsored by one of the largest footwear companies in the world – Nike – will take place between June 26 and 28 at Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris. Interestingly, this is the same stadium where Kipyegon set her 1,500m world record and clocked her fastest-ever 5,000m—both world records at the time—in 2023.
Nike’s Vice President and General Manager for Global Women’s Running, Seema Simmons, confirmed the event dubbed Nike Breaking4, saying it would be pivotal not only for Kipyegon but for other aspiring female athletes hoping to achieve what the mother of one has.
“She’s showing incredible courage just by attempting this,” Simmons said. “Whether or not she breaks the barrier, her determination and journey will inspire generations to pursue their own limits and redefine what’s possible.”
Part of the reason Kipyegon is seen as the perfect candidate to set world history is because she is the current record holder in the women’s mile world record, having run that race in 4:07.64 at the Monaco Diamond League in 2023.
However, breaking her own record by almost eight seconds will not only be an uphill task for Kipyegon, but it will also require special conditions and one of the most remarkable athletic performances in history.
Ahead of the challenge, the record holder exuded confidence, saying, “I’m a three-time Olympic champion. I’ve achieved World Championship titles. I thought, What else? Why not dream outside the box?”
“If you believe in yourself, and your team believes in you, you can do it.”
According to sports scientists, despite the feat being incredibly difficult, it is well within the realms of what the human body can achieve. With near-perfect conditions and a calculated pacing strategy, Kipyegon could achieve a record which will arguably not be broken for lifetimes.
Notably, Kenya's marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge made history in 2019 after running a marathon below two hours in a challenge in which he largely benefitted from conditions, including having a pacesetter.
In the men's sport, running a mile in under four minutes is also not an easy task, with the feat first being achieved by Roger Bannister in 1954. Since then, fewer than 2000 men have tried and succeeded
Attempts to break the four-minute barrier in the mile run have been slower in women's races. Before Kipyegon, Romanian Paula Ivan came closest with a time of 4:15.61. It took 30 years for that time to be lowered by Sifan Hassan, who recorded a time of 4:12.33 in 2019, before Kenya's Kipyegon set the 4:07.64 record.
Away from records, Kipyegon also recently hinted at stepping away from the 1500m to attempt longer races. She recently admitted that with age catching up, she was considering transitioning to an endurance runner by testing herself out in the 10,000-metre races. This would effectively mean the end of her 1500m prowess as we know it.
