3-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon falls short in attempt to break 4-minute mile

Samuel Petrequin · The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 26, 2025 3:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon has failed successful her bid to go the archetypal pistillate to tally a mile successful nether 4 minutes.

Kipyegon, the 2024 Olympic 1,500-metre gold medallist from Kenya, ran four minutes, 6.42 seconds astatine Stade Charlety successful Paris connected Thursday.

Her clip was amended than her 4:07.64 satellite record but won't beryllium recognized by the planetary federation due to the fact that the Nike-sponsored lawsuit dubbed Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon vs. the 4-Minute Mile was unofficial. She was supported by pacemakers and equipped with Nike's latest innovations, from her aerodynamic way suit to her spikes.

"I gave everything contiguous to try, it was not astir moving a tactical race" Kipyegon said. "It was the archetypal trial. I've seen it's possible.

"And I deliberation adjacent clip we volition drawback up with the light," she added, joking astir the Wavelight, the pace-setting strategy utilizing a bid of LED lights connected the wrong of the way making it easier to travel whether an jock is ahead, oregon falling behind.

WATCH | Discussing Kipyegon's imaginable bid to interruption 4-minute mile barrier:

The 31-year-old Kipyegon looked exhausted arsenic she reached the decorativeness and fell connected her backmost arsenic she was surrounded by photographers.

Her effort took spot connected a balmy summer's evening with a somesthesia of 25 C and constricted wind, successful beforehand of an assemblage of a fewer 1000 people.

She utilized a squad of 13 elite gait setters made of 11 men and 2 women who were positioned successful beforehand and down her to trim drag.

But Kipyegon appeared to conflict midway done the contention and failed successful her effort to shave astatine slightest 7.65 seconds disconnected her satellite record. To execute the feat, Kipyegon would person needed to tally each of her 4 laps an mean of astir 2 seconds faster.

Among the guests successful Paris were Carl Lewis and Kipyegon's chap Kenyan runner, longtime person and grooming spouse Eliud Kipchoge.

It was much than 71 years agone erstwhile British runner Roger Bannister became the archetypal antheral to eclipse 4 minutes successful 3:59.4.

Kipyegon acceptable the women's mile satellite grounds astir 2 years agone during a Diamond League conscionable successful Monaco.

She won her 3rd consecutive 1,500 Olympic rubric successful Paris past August. A period earlier that, she broke her ain 1,500 grounds connected the aforesaid way wherever she ran connected Thursday.