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Kenya’s distance running queen, Faith Kipyegon, is setting her sights on an audacious new goal: becoming the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes.
The triple Olympic 1500m champion is set to make the attempt in Paris on 26 June, pushing the boundaries of women’s middle-distance running. Though the performance won’t be officially recognised as a world record—due to the likely use of rotating pacemakers and high-tech gear provided by Nike—the attempt remains a bold statement.
Kipyegon currently holds the official women’s mile world record with a time of 4:07.64, set in 2023. To crack the sub-four barrier, she’ll need to slice off more than seven seconds—an enormous margin in elite athletics.
“I’m a three-time Olympic champion. I’ve won world titles. I asked myself, ‘What next?’” Kipyegon said. “This is about dreaming big. I want this attempt to inspire women to believe that their dreams are valid.”
At 31 years old, Kipyegon has already rewritten the record books. She became the first woman to claim Olympic gold in the 1500m at three consecutive Games and holds world records in both the 1500m and the mile. In 2023, she added a 5,000m world title to her trophy haul—five of her major titles coming after giving birth to her daughter Alyn in 2018.
“Motherhood changed my mindset completely,” she said. “You have to lead by example, to show your child what’s possible.”
The sub-four minute mile has long been a hallowed milestone in athletics. Roger Bannister famously broke the barrier for men in 1954, while Diane Leather ran the first sub-five minute mile for women that same year. The current men’s world mile record stands at 3:43.13, set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999.
This isn’t the first time a Kenyan has pushed the sport into uncharted territory. In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in under two hours, a feat that—like Kipyegon’s upcoming mile attempt—was not officially ratified due to similar conditions.
Still, Faith Kipyegon’s sub-four attempt promises to be a landmark moment in athletics, blending sporting ambition with a message of empowerment.
