Faith Kipyegon runs fastest mile ever by a woman but falls short of sub-4-minute goal

Faith Kipyegon's attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in less than four minutes came up 6.91 seconds short Thursday.

Faith Kipyegon's attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in less than four minutes came up 6.42 seconds short Thursday, with the combination of Kipyegon’s speed and a complex system of pacemakers not enough to overcome a barrier that still has never been broken.

Kipyegon, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500 meters who is considered the greatest middle-distance runner of all-time, finished in 4:06.42 in Paris in what is the fastest mile ever run by a woman. Although it bettered her world record of 4:07.64, run in 2023, her time will not count as an official world record given the extraordinary set of assistance — including male pacers — used during the specialized race organized by Nike and her sponsor and run in front of a limited crowd at Stade Charlety.

Kipyegon entered as the only woman to run a mile in less than 4:10, and in an attempt to knock off the 7.64 seconds separating her from history, Kipyegon ran alongside a team of 13 pacers using a carefully scripted choreography and formation to help the 31-year-old Kenyan “draft,” or reduce the amount of wind resistance she faced. To make Kipyegon even more aerodynamic, Nike created a specialized speed suit and sports bra and produced a new set of spikes.

Her coach, Patrick Sang, said on a Nike-organized broadcast before the race that Kipyegon appeared "a bit nervous" when he saw her Thursday morning.

Her attempt in Paris was not considered an impossibility because science suggested a sub-4 run was possible. In February, a team of researchers published a paper that modeled a race in which Kipyegon would stay within 40 inches of one pacer in front of her, and 40 inches in front of another behind her, with a new pacing team swapping in halfway through. With that drafting strategy, the researchers concluded, Kipyegon could run 3:59.37 — the exact time run by Roger Bannister in 1954 when he became the first human to break the sub-four-minute barrier.