Four-minute mile eludes Kipyegon by six seconds

EMMA DA SILVA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Faith Kipyegon grimaces as she reaches the finish line in Paris

Kipyegon off the pace in Parisian anticlimax

Kenyan’s attempt to become first woman to run a mile in under four minutes falls flat

27 Jun 2025 - The Guardian

Sean Ingle - Stade Charléty

Faith Kipyegon’s dream of following in Sir Roger Bannister’s long footsteps by becoming the first woman to shatter the four-minute barrier for the mile ended with her body soaked in lactic acid and defiance. And, crucially, with the stadium clock at Stade Charléty more than six seconds away from where she had hoped it would be.

The 31-year-old Kenyan arrived in Paris stacked with the latest weapons in track and field’s technological arms race. But having reached the bell in 3min 1sec, just about on schedule, she found that physiology began to overpower technology.

There was a consolation of sorts as she finished in 4:06.42 – 1.22" faster than her world record. The new time will not count as she was being paced by men, which is against World Athletics rules.

“This was the first trial,” she said. “We are learning many lessons from this race. I will go back to the drawing board to get it right. And I think there is more in the tank.”

Before the race Kipyegon’s 13 pacemakers were introduced to the crowd – 11 men and two women. They included several Olympians, the indoor 5,000m world record-holder in the American Grant Fisher, and three Britons, Elliot Giles, Georgia Hunter Bell and Jemma Reekie.

Then it was Kipyegon’s turn, tiny at 5ft 2in, dressed all in black. There was a wave to the crowd, a short sprint to whirr the legs up to full speed. Then they were off, ready to tackle the 1,609 metres in front of them.

It was Giles who led the way, but to the untrained eye it looked as if he went off a little too fast as it took a while to settle into formation: six athletes in a line in front of Kipyegon, one alongside her, and six behind her. The idea was to allow her to draft and reduce wind resistance.

For a while, her supporters in the Stade Charléty dared to dream. Kipyegon went through the first lap in 1:00.20 and hit 800m in 2:00.75. She still looked to be going strong as she heard the bell in 3:01.84, but then the pain and lactic began to rip through her, and she could run the last lap only in a shade under 65 seconds.

The trackside wave lights, which she had used in many of her world records, had been set to get her across the finish line in 3:59.99. This time, though, they kept running further away from her. “I gave everything,” she said. “But I think the wave lights gave everything today too. But maybe next time I can catch up with them.”

Few outside Kipyegon’s camp had expected her to emulate Bannister’s epic 1954 feat. But Nike’s executives insisted privately that there was cause for optimism that she could get close. Part of that came from Kipyegon being armed with the latest super shoes, which were lighter at 90g and more propulsive than her previous spikes. On the insoles were written two words: “fastest known”.

The Kenyan was also wearing a special skinsuit, designed to help her be more aerodynamic. And she had the team of pacers to help her cut through the air quicker.

For months an elaborate pacing and drafting strategy was practised in Nike’s headquarters in Oregon and, more recently, in Paris with Britain’s Hunter Bell acting as Kipyegon.

In tests, one Nike athlete had been able to run a mile 3% quicker using such strategy, compared with a test run using normal equipment and with no pacers. That gave executives confidence Kipyegon could go close.

So where does this leave us? The detractors will say it was marketing hype from the beginning. But that isn’t fair. This was a genuine attempt to go where no woman had gone before, and Kipyegon should be lauded for giving it a shot.

At the press conference, she was praised by one influencer for shifting the narrative. But her face showed that she had wanted more. “It was not easy but I wanted to prove to the world that everything is possible in life if you dare to try. I am hoping one day, one time, it will come my way.”

You could only admire her resolve. But finding those seven seconds will not be easy.

***

Sean Ingle

IOC will ‘protect female category,’ vows Coventry

Kirsty Coventry has said there is now “overwhelming support” among International Olympic Committee members to protect the female category in a significant shift in its gender eligibility policy.

Coventry, who was chairing her first meetings as the IOC’s new president, said that a taskforce of scientists and international federations would be set up within weeks to come up with a new policy. It follows the controversy around the Paris 2024 boxing tournament after two athletes – Imane Khelif and Lin YuTing – won gold medals despite having been disqualified from the previous year’s World Championships for allegedly failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.

Coventry indicated that the IOC would not revisit the allocation of medals from Paris and said the organisation wanted to “look forward” and not back. She said: “There was overwhelming support that we should protect the female category. And with that, we will set up a working group made up of experts and international federations.

“We understand there will be differences depending on the sports. But it was fully agreed that the IOC should make the effort to place emphasis on protection of the female category.”

The new policy is expected to ban transgender and athletes with a difference of sex development from competing in the female category. Coventry was clear there would be no changes to the results of previous Olympics.