13 hours ago
Can a woman run a four-minute mile?
More than 70 years ago, Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes. And, as runners continued to obsess over the mark, several thousand more followed in his wake.
But all of them had one thing in common: They were men.
Now, for the first time, a woman is taking aim at a 4-minute mile. Faith Kipyegon, a three-time Olympic champion from Kenya, will make her attempt at the previously unimaginable target on Thursday in a closed-course event at the Stade Charléty in Paris.
'I think it will cement my legacy and also give hope to other women that everything is possible," Kipyegon said.
The question is exactly how possible. Nike, her sponsor and the event's organizer, is calling this a moonshot, and with good reason. To go under 4 minutes, the 31-year-old Kipyegon needs to slash nearly eight seconds off her current world record of 4:07.64.
Nike has supplied her with special spikes and a sleek, custom racing suit. But the most crucial element probably won't be anything she's wearing. The biggest difference-maker will likely be the pacesetters running with Kipyegon to help maintain the frenetic rhythm and shield her from wind. A spokesperson said Nike had tested different strategies and that the final formation would be revealed on Thursday.
Kipyegon has already written her name into the history books repeatedly by setting world records in the 1,500 and 5,000 meter races. But the mile remains the distance that stays in the minds of even casual weekend runners.
World Athletics President Seb Coe, who set the mile world record three times in the 1970s and 1980s, pointed out that more people have reached the summit of Mount Everest (an estimated 7,000) than achieved a 4-minute mile (about 2,100, according to Track & Field News editor Sieg Lindstrom).
'The mile still has a universal cachet," Coe said.
Nike has plenty of experience with stunts like this one. Eight years ago, it staged a race in Italy for Kenyan star Eliud Kipchoge to try to run a marathon in under two hours.
The company equipped him with state-of-the-art shoes and a phalanx of pace-setting runners tagging in and out to escort him on his way. Kipchoge missed the mark by 25 seconds at the time. But in a subsequent staged attempt two years later, he hit the historic mark on a closed course in Vienna.
Due to the highly controlled conditions, Kipchoge's effort wasn't eligible for world-record ratification—no one has run a marathon in under 2 hours in competition. The same will be true of Kipyegon's attempt. Track and field governing body World Athletics requires that world records be set in live competition.
Still, Kipyegon is throwing herself into uncharted territory for women. Trimming 7.65 seconds over the course of a mile is a monumental leap that will require every possible efficiency.
Aerodynamic drafting with the help of pacesetters could contribute to a saving of 3 to 4 seconds at 4-minute-mile pace, according to a recent academic paper written in part by two Nike-funded researchers. When Bannister broke the 4-minute barrier, he drafted closely behind two different pacers for more than 80% of the run.
Another study, published in February independently of Nike, said its calculations 'suggest that Kipyegon could run ~3:59.37 with drafting provided by one pacer in front and one in back who change out with two other pacers at 800 [meters]."
Wouter Hoogkamer, one of the authors of the February study, said, 'We didn't think they were going to try it this soon. But I guess if anybody's going to do it, it's going to be Faith Kipyegon."
Beyond the pacers, Kipyegon—who once won a junior title running barefoot—will also rely on a knee-length bodysuit studded with raindrop-sized nubs that Nike calls 'aeronodes," which are designed to 'split the air in front of Faith and create smaller eddies behind her to reduce drag." The kit includes arm and leg sleeves and a headband.
Her custom track shoes, meanwhile, feature six spikes instead of the regular five and more cushion under the forefoot. The general category of super spikes, developed with high-tech foams and carbon-fiber plates, has driven a surge in 4-minute miles among men.
Kipyegon's attempt comes as Nike seeks to rejuvenate its brand and capitalize on the rising profile of women's sports. But not everyone necessarily sees the sporting merit.
Kara Goucher, a retired U.S. Olympian and former Nike athlete who has been critical of the brand, called Kipyegon a 'true prodigy," but thought that fixating on 4 minutes was misguided.
'We are focused on a woman breaking a men's barrier instead of what she has already done," Goucher wrote in an email. 'She has run 4:07 in the mile. That is wayyy faster than what was ever believed that a woman could run."
Write to Rachel Bachman at
