Faith Kipyegon Wants To Run A Mile In Under Four Minutes — Here's The Kit She'll Be Wearing
Faith Kipyegon wants to make history and become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes. Nike, a longtime partner of the Kenyan middle-distance runner, believes it can help her achieve her goal by dressing her for the challenge.
The sports giant has developed a feather-light kit made from FlyWeb, a new innovative material designed to help boost her performance. It's leveraged 3-D printing to created a one-of-a-kind, aerodynamic skinsuit and coordinating sports bra for the athlete, which will debut on June 26 at the Stade Charléty in Paris when Kipyegon attempts to beat her own record, an effort her and Nike are dubbing Breaking4.
'We're just scratching the surface,' said Nike's vice president of innovation Janett Nichol. 'This is a true unlock...for how we design and build high-performance apparel going forward. It opens the door to entirely new ideas for how athletes experience sport through what they wear.'
The final product is a result of years of engineering and experimentation of both materials and design, says Nichol. The FlyWeb is slippery and slick, while the skinsuit is covered with 'Aeronodes,' designed to optimise the flow of wind around her body — essentially minimising any drag and boosting speed.
'The integrative nature of this kit means everything with this attempt,' Brett Kirby, principal researcher at Nike Sports Research Lab, said in a statement. 'Not any one thing will help her break it.'
Kipyegon is a three-time Gold Olympic champion, and already holds the world record for the fastest mile run at 4 mins 7.64 seconds. Now, with a little help from Nike, it looks as if she'll shave off those last 8 seconds and smash her own record.
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