Faith Kipyegon’s record mile falls just short of sub-4 barrier

Faith Kipyegon in action in China (C) Marta Gorczyńska / Diamond League

By Erick Kariuki
Thursday, June 26, 2025

Faith Kipyegon delivered the fastest mile ever run by a woman on Thursday night in Paris, clocking 4:06.42 during a Nike-organised exhibition event. Though she missed the elusive sub-four-minute mark, the performance broke her own world record and reaffirmed her place at the pinnacle of middle-distance running.

Faith Kipyegon came within touching distance of one of athletics’ most enduring barriers on Thursday night, stopping the clock at 4:06.42 in an electrifying solo effort at Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris.

The performance, delivered in a specially organised Nike event dubbed Breaking4, marks the fastest women’s mile ever recorded, eclipsing her own official world record of 4:07.64 set in 2023. Though she fell just short of becoming the first woman to run under four minutes for the distance, Kipyegon’s run was nothing short of historic.

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The time trial, modelled after Eliud Kipchoge’s Ineos 1:59 Challenge, was held under non-record eligible conditions, featuring a rotating team of pacemakers and exhibition-style rules. Despite this, the event drew global attention, with millions watching via Nike’s YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Amazon Prime Video channels.

"I have tried; that is why I was coming here to try to be the first woman to run under 4 minutes, but I have proven it's possible. I will not lose hope; I will still go for it." Faith Kipyegon said after the race.

Kipyegon, 31, launched into the challenge with months of focused preparation behind her. Backed by her sponsor Nike and a $100,000 incentive from the women-only track and field league ATHLOS, the three-time Olympic and world 1,500m champion set out to defy a mark no woman has yet surpassed.

“I absolutely think there’s special energy at this track,” she said before the race. “I have beautiful memories of Paris, breaking the 5,000m world record, breaking the 1,500m world record there. And now we are going for this special one.”

Her attempt came almost exactly 70 years after Britain’s Roger Bannister became the first man to run a sub-four-minute mile in 1954. That same month, Diane Leather broke five minutes, becoming the first woman to do so. No woman has come closer than Kipyegon to matching Bannister’s historic feat.

World Athletics hailed the performance, posting: “Chasing history, creating legacy. Still the fastest mile run by a woman in history. Faith Kipyegon gives everything in her quest to break the 4-minute mile and stops the clock at 4:06.42. Thank you, Faith, for making us dream. Maybe not today, but soon.”

The Paris event also served as a curtain-raiser for the newly launched ATHLOS league, founded by tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian. The league is part of a broader push to create more competitive and financially rewarding platforms for female athletes in track and field.

“World records weren’t enough. Faith Kipyegon is chasing the impossible,” ATHLOS said in a statement before the race. “We are in awe of the pursuit and the strength to push the limits of the sport.”

Kipyegon’s career is already one of the most decorated in athletics. She won Olympic 1,500m gold in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and world titles in 2017, 2022, and 2023—when she also claimed gold in the 5,000m. Although that 5,000m world record was recently broken by Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, the Kenyan remains the holder of the 1,500m world record at 3:49.04.

Her comeback after giving birth in 2018 has been remarkable, redefining expectations for female athletes returning to elite sport.

Faith Kipyegon now shifts her focus to the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo in September, where she will once again aim to reinforce her status as one of the greatest middle-distance runners in history.