Triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya fell well short in her bid to become the first woman to run a sub-four minute mile on Thursday.
Aided by wavelength technology and 13 pacers, 11 male and two women, Kipyegon clocked 4min 06.42sec over 1.6km in perfect conditions at Stade Charlety in south Paris.
The time was better than her own world record of 4:07.64 in the non-Olympic event set in Monaco in 2023. But it will not stand as a new world record given the presence of male pacemakers.
Faith Kipyegon ran the mile in 4:06.42 💨
— ESPN (@espn) June 26, 2025
She might not have hit the sub four-minute goal today, but it was more than a second faster than her world record 👏
(📹 Nike) pic.twitter.com/KmbTYqtl4P
"I'm exhausted, I feel tired," said the 31-year-old Kipyegon.
"I tried to be the fastest woman under four minutes, I've proven it's possible, it's only a matter of time. I think it will come one day, if not me someone else."
After attempting to become the first woman to ever run a sub-four minute mile, Faith Kipyegon had a message for her supporters ❤️
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 26, 2025
"If it's not me, it'll be somebody else. ... We are not limited."
(📹 Nike) pic.twitter.com/1fH1tVsEZV
No woman has ever attempted the sub-4min feat, which was first achieved in 1954 by Britain Roger Bannister – in 3min 59.4sec – in what has gone down as one of track running's most momentous achievements.
Chasing history, creating legacy 💜
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) June 26, 2025
Still the fastest mile run by a woman in history, @Kipyegon_Faith gives everything in her quest to break the 4️⃣ minute mile and stops the clock at 4:06.42.
Thank you, Faith, for making us dream.
Maybe not today, but soon…😤 pic.twitter.com/Px9xTqNA9S
When Bannister ran a sub-four minute mile 71 years ago, racing conditions were very different. The Briton did it after a morning's work at a hospital during a meet on a cinder track in Oxford and wearing heavy spiked shoes.
Almost 2 000 male athletes have gone on to run sub-4min times since 1954.