Kipyegon fails in bid to be first woman to run sub-four-minute mile

Faith Kipyegon fell short successful her bid to go nan first female successful history to tally a sub-four-minute mile.

The Kenyan, 31, clocked 4 minutes 06.42 seconds successful cleanable conditions astatine Stade Charlety successful Paris - a clip 1.22 seconds faster than her world grounds - successful pursuit of nan momentous feat.

The clip will not beryllium recognised arsenic an charismatic grounds because Kipyegon was assisted by a squad of antheral and female pacemakers and wore technologically precocious kit and shoes astatine nan Nike-sponsored 'Breaking4' event.

Kipyegon's charismatic women's mile grounds of 4:07.64, group successful July 2023, remains almost 5 seconds faster than immoderate different female jock successful history has tally for nan distance.

It was that grounds capacity successful Monaco which made Kipyegon judge sub-four - erstwhile considered physiologically intolerable for a female - was wrong reach.

But nan three-time Olympic 1500m champion still had a chasm to bridge, being required to tally 2 seconds per thigh faster than she had before.

Kipyegon was kitted retired successful an aerodynamic skinsuit and specially designed spikes arsenic she targeted sub-60 2nd laps - an mean velocity of astir 15 miles aliases 24 kilometres, per hour.

She was aided by 13 pacemakers, including Britain's Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Hunter Bell and Jemma Reekie, arsenic she chased nan Wavelights search her advancement connected nan wrong curb of nan track.

Kipyegon completed nan 3rd thigh successful 3:01.84, but her hopes of achieving nan target gradually faded successful nan last 400m.

She still ran done nan decorativeness portion successful nan fastest clip successful history by a female earlier collapsing to nan ground.

The portion was held by her friend and training partner Eliud Kipchoge, who successful 2019 became nan first personification to tally a marathon successful nether 2 hours.

"I person proven that it is possible, it is only a matter of time. If it is not me, it will beryllium personification else," Kipyegon said.

"I will not suffer hope, I will still spell for it. I dream I will get it 1 day."

Sending a connection to her girl and young girls watching nan grounds attempt, she said: "I will show them we are not limited. We tin limit ourselves pinch thoughts, but it is imaginable to effort everything and beryllium to nan world that we are strong. Keep pushing."

More than 70 years person passed since Britain's Sir Roger Bannister became nan first man to hit nan four-minute obstruction for nan mile.

That came successful May 1954 and was a sporting frontier compared astatine nan clip to being "as elusive and seemingly unattainable arsenic [reaching nan acme of] Everest".

Far much person climbed to Earth's highest constituent than matched Bannister's feat since then.

It was successful nan aforesaid period arsenic Bannister's historical milestone that compatriot Diane Leather became nan first women to tally a sub-five infinitesimal mile.

After decades of incremental increases by women, Kipyegon obliterated Sifan Hassan's 2019 world grounds of 4:12.33 to bring nan erstwhile inconceivable into view.

Long earlier she chased history successful Nike's latest high-technology shoes, Kipyegon would tally barefoot to and from schoolhouse successful her colony successful Kenya.

The first female to triumph 3 consecutive Olympic 1500m titles moreover captured her first world title astatine nan World Junior Cross Country Championships successful 2011 pinch thing connected her feet.

On Thursday evening, Kipyegon wore a achromatic aerodynamic skinsuit featuring 'aeronodes' - strategically placed 3D-printed bumps - on pinch accompanying limb and limb sleeves and a headband, each designed to trim upwind guidance and drag.

Her shoes, based connected nan Nike Victory 2 spikes successful which she won Olympic golden past summer, weighed conscionable 85 grams, pinch a c fibre sheet connected nan sole and aerial pockets successful nan forefoot providing enhanced propulsion.

The clip connected nan timepiece astatine nan extremity of nan title did not statesman pinch a '3' this clip but, conscionable arsenic nan men's grounds now sounds 3:43.13, Kipyegon has made nan erstwhile intolerable look probable.