Milestone 5: Women’s Sub 4, The Next Frontier?
In June 2025, Kenyan middle-distance star Faith Kipyegon made a much-publicized attempt to become the first woman ever to run a sub-four-minute mile. The event, called Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon vs. the 4-Minute Mile, was staged in Paris at Stade Sébastien Charléty under highly controlled conditions and heavy technological and pacing support.
Kipyegon entered the attempt as the official women’s mile world record holder, with a time of 4:07.64 set in Monaco in 2023. To break the four-minute barrier, she would have had to improve over 7.6 seconds—an enormous leap at that elite level.
The support structure for the run was elaborate. Nike and Kipyegon’s team deployed 13 pacemakers (11 men and 2 women) arranged in strategic formations as “shield” and “spoiler” groups to reduce wind drag and push pace. In addition, she wore aerodynamic spikes and a tailored racing suit designed to maximize performance. Also, the organizers used Wavelight pacing technology—a moving laser light system projected along the inside rail of the track to guide her pacing in real time.
During the run, Kipyegon stayed close to the target pace through much of the first three laps, even matching the Wavelight lights early on. But by the third lap she began to drift slightly, and she lost further ground in the final lap. She crossed the finish in 4:06.42 (after an adjustment for reaction time), a performance faster than her official record but still about six seconds above the elusive sub-four threshold.
Because the event used male pacemakers, nonstandard equipment, and was not a genuine open competition, World Athletics will not ratify her time as a new record. Nonetheless, Kipyegon’s attempt pushed boundaries, showcased what might be possible with cutting-edge support, and strengthened belief that a female sub-four-minute mile may one day be realized.
