The history of the women's mile, ahead of Faith Kipyegon's record attempt
She's making history
Lifestyle
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As Kenya's Faith Kipyegon prepares for a record-breaking run to crown her the first woman in history to run a four-minute mile, we take a look back at the women who have come close.
Within a matter of hours, a woman may have run a mile (1609m) in under four minutes for the first time ever.
Faith Kipyegon is taking on the challenge at Nike’s Breaking4 at the Stade Charléty in Paris, just before 8 pm local time on Thursday.
While more than 1700 male athletes have achieved the feat, the fastest running it in three minutes and 43 seconds, a five-minute mile is currently the gold standard for women.
The history of the women’s mile
The momentous feat was first achieved by British runner Roger Bannister at Iffley Road, Oxford in May 1954.
23 days later, Britain’s Diane Leather ran it in 4:59.6, becoming the first woman to run the distance in under five minutes.
Another British athlete, Anne Smit, was the first woman to be awarded the mile record by World Athletics in 1967, crossing the finish line at 4:37.0.
Svetlana Masterkova held the record at 4:12.56 for 12 years and 11 months after her run at Weltklasse Grand Prix, Zurich in 1996.
Sifan Hasan ran the mile in 4:12.33 at Monaco's Stade Louis II in 2019.
What is the current women’s mile record?
The 31-year-old Kenyan superstar set the current women’s mile world record in July 2023, 7.64 seconds shy of the four-minute mark.
She was 4.69 seconds faster than Hasan.
To achieve the four-minute mile, Kipyegon will have to shave just over three per cent off her previous time, sprinting 1500m almost five and a half seconds faster than the 2023 run.
When asked in a press conference how she’s feeling in the lead up to her run, Kipyegon replied, “strong.”
“You have to dream and go for that dream. What a man can do, a woman can do”, she said.
What is the Nike Breaking4?
The event is predicted to be a spectacle, fittingly.
We’ll watch the Nike athlete compete with herself and the clock alone, without any other athletes in the race.
She will, however, have pacers, including British Olympian Georgia Bell, helping her maintain the 2:29 min/km pace she needs to make history, according to Runner’s World.
Marathon icon and training partner of Kipyegon, Eliud Kipchoge will be in Paris to watch the momentous run.
The only athlete to ever win three Olympic titles over 1500m, Kipyegon said, “Breaking4 will really cement my legacy – it will give hope to the next generation and women. It will help us to believe in ourselves that anything is possible.”
Nike chief executive Elliot Hill described the runner as a "once-in-a-generation talent". No one has come close to her time.
"I'm a three-time Olympic champion. I've achieved World Championship titles. I thought, What else? Why not dream outside the box?" Kipyegon told Nike.
"And I told myself, 'If you believe in yourself, and your team believes in you, you can do it.'"
A kit built for a ‘moonshot’
In its press release announcing the event, Nike repeatedly called the attempt a ‘moonshot’, and rightfully so.
But the brand is kitting Kipyegon out in everything they can to help her achieve the dream, including a skin suit fitted with 3D-printed aeronodes to reduce drag, a body-mapped bra, also 3D-printed, and a special headband to further reduce drag.
As for the important shoes?
The star will wear 85-gram custom spikes with titanium pins and a carbon plate.
Lighter than her Olympic shoes, here’s hoping they’re enough to help her make history.
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