A woman of faith, Kipyegon aims to run sub-four minutes in the Mile

June 26 might go down in history as the day that a woman ran sub-four minutes in the Mile, a feat that the men achieved 70 years ago.

The woman being prepared to break that barrier is Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, an athlete who has a gold medal and a trophy from almost every international championship on her wall cabinet.

Kipyegon’s discipline, fortitude, lofty dreams, infectious smiles, sheer confidence, grit, simplicity and powerful kicks have propelled her to shattering numerous barriers.

Her three Olympic gold medals, four world titles, a World Relays win, five Diamond League trophies, two world cross country victories and a World Road Running bronze medal as well as two World Records – 1500m and One Mile, make Kipyegon the world’s most decorated athlete.

What else can an athlete of Kipyegon’s stature look to achieve, if not breaking barriers?

And the race to make her the first woman in the history of athletics to run One Mile under four minutes is cruising at an exhilarating momentum.

The Nike Breaking4 Attempt set for June 26 at the Stade Charlety in Paris, France, has been set up to allow Kipyegon to dip under four minutes, in an event where she holds the World Record.

From kitting to specialised physical and mental training, Kipyegon is getting ready to treat the world to a spectacular challenge.

Five years ago, two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge made history when he became the first man to run sub-two hours in the marathon at the INEOS 1:59 challenge. He was the reigning world record holder in the marathon at that time.

Before the 2019 INEOS 1:59, Kipchoge had in 2017 participated in the Breaking2 attempt, also pioneered by Nike with an aim of achieving an under-2 hours in the marathon but the legendary long-distance maestro missed the mark by 26 seconds after timing 2:00:25.

Reports by international media indicate that Kipyegon will be paced by two athletes, one running in front and another behind her. It remains unclear whether the pacers will be men or women or mixed.

Eliud Kipchoge was paced by 41 men during the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in October 2019.

The Kits

To achieve the desired pace and time required for Kipyegon to run under four minutes in the 1609.344m distance, the sponsor of the challenge, Nike has designed a special Fly Suit.

According to the manufacturer, the fly suit has been designed to optimise speed by minimising the effects caused by the wind during running.

Researchers estimate that at full sprint, Kipyegon will be running 15 miles per hour during the attempt.

And as the air hits her body, she’ll be pulled back as the air whips around her, building pockets of air behind the athlete, hence slowing her down.

To fight these forces and maximise Kipyegon’s speed during the challenge, the Nike Fly Suit, which is a one-piece apparel solution, has been made using stretchy materials to help Kipyegon move through the air with efficiency. It comes with a headband.

According to Nike, the material used on the headband, arm sleeves and leg sleeves is lighter than that on the suit, which covers Kipyegon from below the neck to just about the knee, is lighter.

The lightweight running suit helps Kipyegon conserve more energy, perhaps for an expected kick at the homestretch.

Designers say the racing suit is made of aeronodes to manipulate airflow during a lightning-speed race.

Flyweb Bra

Aside from the suit, a sporting bra has been designed as all stops are pulled for the Breaking4 attempt.

After years of research, experts say, a typical sports bra has its drawbacks.

They say it can hold more moisture in the body compared to other articles of clothing.

They further explain that a “thermal burden” associated with a normal sports bra can also be ruinous, even for an event as short as a mile.

To enhance the efficiency of the Fly Suit, the sports bra was developed to add not another unnecessary heat source.

For the attempt, Kipyegon will wear a new bra made of Nike FlyWeb, a 3D-printed thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material optimised for moisture management, better than typical textile.

Victory Elite FK

When she shattered the Mile World Record in 2023 and claimed her third Olympic title in Paris last year, Kipyegon wore Nike Victory 2 spikes.

As she gets set for the Breaking4 challenge in Paris, her footwear will be an improvement on the shoes that she wore when writing the two major historic achievements.

Kipyegon will be wearing the Victory Elite FK spikes and nothing but lightning speed is expected.

She holds the 4:07.64 World Record in the Mile, and will need to run 7.65 seconds faster to break the four-minute barrier.

“Track spikes are incredibly important for preserving energy while running.”

“The spike is also significantly lighter than anything she’s worn before. We’re storied in our spike design history at Nike, and still, we’ve pushed even further into the future with Faith’s Victory Elite FK spike,” says Nike’s Footwear Product Director, Carrie Dimoff.

Pacesetting

Kipchoge, also sponsored by Nike, used rotating pacesetters in his 2017 and 2019 attempts to break two hours in the marathon, and was handed drinks from a bike to try and break the two-hour barrier.

As of yesterday, it’s unclear if the challenge will look similar to Eliud Kipchoge’s INEOS or Breaking2 attempts.

On his second attempt in 2019, Kipchoge ran a legendary 1:59:40, a time considered the fastest ever in the marathon, but it does not count as an official world record because standard competition rules for pacing and fluids were not followed.

While Breaking4 might be staged in a different setting, that is, on the track, pacesetting might inject additional pace.

Inspiration by Kipchoge

To boost Faith Kipyegon’s mental strength ahead of the Breaking4 challenge, Eliud Kipchoge, a man who has broken limits, is in the mix, offering inspiration.

Nike recently organised a conversation between the two Kaptagat-based training mates and the most decorated Kenyan stars.

“Eliud has shown me that boundaries are meant to be pushed. So I’m there to dare to try, and I will give it my all,” Kipyegon said during the conversation held at the Global Sports Training camp in Kaptagat.

Kipchoge, on his side, said: “You know, I think the most important things are the systems. Faith has already built the real system. It’s like crossing a bridge to get to the other side — the systems themselves are the bridge. Faith has just to step on them and cross to the other side.”