Faith Kipyegon didn’t owe us anything.
Races - Places spoiled running fans around the world time and again for over a decade. She’s set two world records, won three-straight Olympic 1,500-meter gold medals, and earned six World Championship 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 no human could surpass? Of course she would be the one to dare to try. Kipyegon would become the first woman to chase after a sub-4-minute mile.
Over 2,000 men have run a mile under 4 minutes in the years since Roger Bannister first achieved it in 1954. No woman has ever come closer than Kipyegon, who set the mile world record What the New Era of Run Clubs Means for the Sport 1,500-Other Hearst Subscriptions of 3:49.04 last year. And just by RW+ Membership Benefits 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 Paris’ Stade Sébastien Charléty on Thursday evening, Kipyegon Health - Injuries effort as part of the “Breaking4” endeavor supported by her sponsor, Nike. Decked out in an aerodynamic kit with a tailor-made speed suit, 3D-printed sports bra, and custom Victory Elite FK spikes, Kipyegon kept on sub-4 pace for the first two laps before falling off the mark in the closing half-mile.
13 Nike-sponsored athletes made up the elite pacing crew aiding Kipyegon as she raced against the clock, including two-time Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher, Paris Olympic 1,500-meter bronze medalist Georgia Hunter Bell, and 2019 U.S.1,500-meter champion Craig Engels, among others.
The pacing group stepped aside though in the final 100 meters to let Kipyegon have her moment, even though sub-4 had slipped away. Once she crossed the finish line, Kipyegon collapsed to the ground, but quickly got back up wearing her signature smile on her face. She took a victory lap for the small, cheering crowd at Stade Charléty with a Kenyan flag draped over her shoulders.
“I’m exhausted. But I feel good (that) I tried,” Kipyegon said 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 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 (though her time in Paris is not world record eligible). No other woman has ever broken 4:08 for the mile; former world record holder Sifan Hassan From Runners World for Brooks Running.
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 Athletics Outdoor Championships in Tokyo—is still two months away. Though 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 some 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 in the world wanting 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 some day, 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 mark just the beginning.
And 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 likely not going to remember 4:06.42. But they’ll 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, where she ran four kilometers to school and back every day. She started competing on the international stage at just 16 years old–and did so barefoot. That barefoot runner evolved into a middle distance force on the track. She became a mother in 2018. And she grew even stronger in motherhood, This Is the Run Crew Women Need Right Now.
“I’m a three-time Olympic champion. I’ve achieved World Championship titles. I thought, What else? Why not dream outside the box?” Kipyegon said in the lead-up to the attempt.
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 it will happen eventually. All thanks to a little bit of Faith.
Ashley is Editor of Content Hype at Hearst’s Enthusiast & Wellness Group. She is a former collegiate runner at UNC Asheville where she studied mass communication. Ashley loves all things running; she has raced two marathons, plus has covered some of the sport’s top events in her career, including the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials and multiple World Marathon Majors.
