Kipyegon shifting the limits of belief with her Breaking4 attempt

Seventy-one years ago, on 6 May 1954, Roger Bannister, a 25-year-old medical student, ran a mile in 3:59.4 seconds, breaking the so-called “impossible” four-minute barrier.

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Bannister did not just set a record; he showed that barriers, even sacred ones, are made to be tested, and that is Faith Kipyegon’s mission, on Thursday, 26 June in Paris, to attempt the same feat that once shook the sporting world: the sub-four-minute mile.

Inside the support squad pushing Kipyegon in her 'Breaking4' quest

Just weeks after Bannister’s feat, Diane Leather became the first woman to run a mile in under five minutes, clocking 4:59.6, an achievement history has largely overlooked. Unlike Bannister’s, it was met with little celebration.

“I am a three-time Olympic champion. I have achieved world championship titles, and I thought: What else? Why not dream outside the box?” said Kiypegon.

Kipyegon will run on a fast, synthetic surface, in aerodynamically optimized gear, carbon-plated shoes, and scientifically calibrated conditions. Her race kit will be 3D-printed for precision. She will be backed by cutting-edge data, gear innovations, and the most advanced support team a professional athlete can access.

The 31-year-old already owns the world record in the mile, but her personal best is 4:07.64, meaning she will have to cut off 7.65 seconds during her dash to the finish line. That would mean running every lap two seconds quicker than she did during her record-breaking feat in July 2023.

“You can’t limit yourself,” she says. “You have to dream, to go for that risk, and just believe in yourself, and in everything you do. We all have the same dreams. And what a man can do, a woman can do,” she continued.

Kenyans will join the rest of the world in cheering for the multiple World Record holder, courtesy of Safaricom who have announced a special 4GB YouTube bundle for just Ksh4. The affordable bundle will enable Kenyans to stream and watch the race live, as it is not on offer on national television.

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