Triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya will attempt to make history by becoming the first woman to run a sub-four minute mile on Thursday, but to do so she must shave nearly eight seconds off her world record.
Already the world record holder in this non-Olympic distance equivalent to 1.6km, Kipyegon will nevertheless have to smash her own benchmark of 4min 07.64sec by gaining almost two seconds per 400m.
No woman has ever attempted the feat, which was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister — in 3min 59.4sec — in what has gone down as one of track running’s most momentous achievements.
When Bannister ran a sub-four minute mile 71 years ago, racing conditions were very different. The Briton did it after a morning’s work at a hospital during a meet on a cinder track in Oxford and wearing heavy spiked shoes.
In the unofficial race in Paris organised by Nike, 31-year-old Kipyegon will benefit from the wealth of her sponsor’s technological support.
The “Breaking 4” project follows on six years after Eliud Kipchoge’s “Breaking 2” — when the Kenyan became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours.
For the attempt, Kipyegon will sport a custom-made suit as well as new Victory Elite FK shoes. She will also reportedly be accompanied by a team of male pacemakers around the Stade Charlety track.
Despite all this, some believe that the task of trimming nearly eight seconds off her world record time will be beyond the three-time Olympic 1500m gold medallist.
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“Spoiler alert. She’s not going to break 4:00. And it’s not going to be particularly close,” said Robert Johnson, co-founder of the specialist site LetsRun.com.
He highlighted Kipyegon’s comeback race, when she ran a 1,000m in China at the end of April in 2min 29.21sec.
“She was fantastic… To nearly break a world record in your season opener is amazing and shows you why Kipyegon is one of track & field’s all-time greats,” said Johnson.
“If you run 2:29.21 1000m pace for 1609 meters — otherwise known as a mile — You get 4:00.08.. To break 4:00, Kipyegon would have to run an extra 609 meters faster than what she ran (that) day.”
Kipyegon, nonetheless, has the backing of certain fellow long-distance Olympians, with Norway’s double champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen telling AFP: “I’m really intrigued to see if it’s possible.
“It seems completely crazy.”
