EMMA DA SILVA/AFP via Getty
Faith Kipyegon at the Breaking4 event in Paris on June 26, 2025
NEED TO KNOW
- Faith Kipyegon nearly broke the sub-4 minute mile threshold
- The Olympic gold medalist set a personal record and a new world record at an event in Paris
- The Kenyan middle-distance runner was outfitted by Nike and aided by pace runners
Faith Kipyegon came seconds away from making history!
The Olympic champion nearly ran a mile in less than four minutes — coming oh-so-close to breaking the threshold which no female athlete has ever achieved on Thursday, June 26.
Kipyegon, 31, ran a personal best and set a world record in the distance at Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, but finished with a time of 4:06.42, according to Nike, who sponsored the special event called “Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon vs. the 4-Minute Mile.”
“It was tough, but I am so proud of what I’ve done, and I’m going to keep on trying, dreaming and pursuing big goals,” Kipyegon said after her attempt. “I want to show the world, and especially women, that you have to dare to try.”
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EMMA DA SILVA/AFP via Getty
Faith Kipyegon
Aided by pace runners and outfitted by Nike in a featherlight 3D printed sports bra, aerodynamic one-piece racing suit and spikes that weighed only 85 grams each, the Kenyan middle-distance runner ran four laps around the stadium at a blistering pace.
Kipyegon — who previously set the world record in 4:07.64 in 2023 – is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500-meters, a distance in which she also owns the world record time.
While no woman has ever ran a mile in less than four minutes, a mark first set by Roger Bannister in 1954, nearly 2,100 men have successfully run a sub-4-minute mile, according to The New York Times.
Before the race, Kipyegon shared her mindset for her latest attempt. “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, per a Nike press release. “And I told myself, ‘If you believe in yourself, and your team believes in you, you can do it.’ ”
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