Faith Kipyegon responds to critics ahead of audacious attempt to break the mile record
Reading Time: 3min | Fri. 09.05.25. | 07:10
However, the run may not meet official world record criteria due to such pacing strategies and potential footwear innovations.
Triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon has a message for critics as she chases history once again.
This time, Kipyegon aims to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes during Nike’s bold Breaking4 initiative.
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The historic attempt is scheduled to take place between Thursday, June 26, and Saturday, June 28, giving organizers a window to stage the event under optimal weather conditions.
Much like Eliud Kipchoge’s Breaking2 marathon project in 2017, Breaking4 seeks not only to challenge human limits but also to reimagine what’s possible in women’s middle-distance running.
The 1,500m great, who currently holds the women’s world mile record at 4:07.64, is undeterred by critics and the weight of expectation.
“Somebody wrote an article, and many people were saying how Faith would be the first woman to run under four minutes in the mile, and I was like, who said it? It is not out there yet. Yeah, that is a tough one,” Kipyegon posted on her social media handles.
While achieving the feat would be historic, Kipyegon admits that it will be a tough nut to crack.
“For the mile, for a woman to run four minutes, it is not easy or something you are going to pick and smile that you made it. I know it will be a tough one. It is not easy. It is something to try. People say, ‘Dare to try.’ So, I will try to be the first woman to run under four minutes. That is what I am looking at now,” she continued.
The feat, if successful, would further establish her as one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time. In 2023 alone, Kipyegon shattered three world records — in the 1500m (3:49.04), 5000m, and the mile — making her the first woman to simultaneously hold those records.
A recent study published in Royal Society Open Science suggests that the sub-four-minute mark is within reach.
The research, co-authored by U.S. Olympian and biomechanics expert Shalaya Kipp, estimates that Kipyegon could potentially run as fast as 3:59.37. This would match Roger Bannister’s legendary men's mile time from 1954, under ideal conditions, including the use of pacers positioned both ahead of and behind her.
Notably, during her 2023 mile world record, Kipyegon had little pacing support and ran the final lap solo after her pacers moved too fast.
The Breaking4 setup will likely address that gap, employing rotating pacers to optimize conditions, much like Kipchoge’s 1:59:40 marathon in Vienna.
As with Breaking2, however, the run may not meet official world record criteria due to such pacing strategies and potential footwear innovations.
Nike has yet to reveal what shoes Kipyegon will wear. In past competitions, she has favored the Nike Zoom Victory 2 spikes, including during her gold medal-winning performance at the Tokyo Olympics.
With the record not officially on the line, the event gives Nike room to test cutting-edge prototypes without restrictions.
