Today, Triple Olympic and World Champion Faith Kipyegon will attempt to become the first woman in the history of the world to break the four-minute mile.
In a widely marketed event sponsored by sportswear industry leader Nike, Kipyegon will attempt a time that has long been considered humanly impossible for women. Similar to Roger Bannister’s history-making sub-four-minute mile achievement back in 1954, she dreams of proving that, as Nike puts, “everything is possible” and further, to “set the stage for future generations to dream big.”
Taking place today at the Stade Charléty in Paris – a location specifically chosen for optimal performance – whether Kipyegon achieves the feat or not, she hopes to break boundaries, push the limits of human capacity, and inspire others. “I’m a three-time Olympic champion. I’ve achieved World Championship titles. I thought, What else? Why not dream outside the box?” she shared in press release. ”I told myself, ‘If you believe in yourself, and your team believes in you, you can do it.’”
Faith Kipyegon is attempting to break the four-minute-mile today – a world-first for women. So, will she do it?
If any woman can do it, Kipyegon likely can. She’s the athlete who’s come closest to the benchmark and has a wealth of world records under her belt, holding unbeaten personal bests over the mile and 1,500-metre distances. And thanks to Nike’s backing, she’s been supported throughout her training journey and on the day itself, with a top team of experts working to optimise not only her training, nutrition, recovery and mental resilience, but also the conditions on the course itself on the day.
So, question: is it an inspiring, once-in-a-lifetime world record attempt, encouraging women to push boundaries and achieve the impossible? Or is it really too little, too late, a show of support for female athletes?
For context, Eliud Kipchoge made history and broke the world record for the fastest marathon ever back in 2019, breaking the sub-2-hour marathon for the first time in a similarly Nike-backed event. And while it’s undoubtedly hugely inspiring to see a similar scale world-record attempt for a female athlete being sponsored, it is worth noting that this comes six whole years after they launched a similar (albeit different distance) attempt with a male athlete.
It’s a nuanced topic and one that’s divided the opinions of the experts I spoke to. Historically, female athletes are sponsored less, given less airtime and studied less. There’s a huge gender and sporting research gap, with one 2024 study finding that nearly one in five studies in sport psychology included exclusively male participants, compared to just 7% with females. It’s a tale as old as time, with a further landmark 2021 analysis of six journals in sports medicine and science noticing a similar pattern – 31% of studies observed only male athletes, while just 6% focused exclusively on females. Interestingly, they also observed “more frequent direction to, and labelling of, female as compared to male-only samples,” implying male gender as the norm.
Anthony Fletcher, an exercise physiologist, biomechanics coach and co-founder of OneTrack, a community for people who run, points out that there are likely a range of variables which mean the female attempt hasn’t happened until now. “There’s a huge gap in sports science research. Two main hurdles to overcome? Women are more expensive, plus take more time to study, in comparison to males. While this is slowly changing with innovations in hormone testing and technological trackers, it’s still a challenge.”
“We also have to consider that between Kipchoge’s Breaking 2 attempt and now, there were three years of the global pandemic, which caused a lot of uncertainty,” he goes on. “There’s definitely a positive spin, though – it rebukes the narrative that women have been told forever that they aren’t strong enough, not capable, can’t, or shouldn’t. This is a public demonstration of try, should, maybe, can, and an argument can be made for better late than never.”
Championing real women and inspiring real change
Sabrina Pace-Humpreys, a running coach and ultra runner, feels that women in sport are often the second thought. “Do I want to see a woman such as Kipyegon attempting a challenge such as this? Yes. But do I genuinely believe that it will change the view of the sporting world when it comes to investment in women’s sports science? No. And therein lies the issue,” she reflects.
She herself worked in the brand space before pursuing her career as a run coach and endurance runner and believes that it may be a tokenistic move from the brand. “This feels like a ‘must do’ campaign rather than a ‘want to do’ – we did it for Eliud [Kipchoge], therefore we’ve got to do it for a woman.”
Pace-Humpreys would like to see real women championed, supported, and encouraged to move their bodies in a way that boosts both physical and mental wellbeing – but isn’t sure if out-of-reach athletes like Kipyegon are really inspiring day-to-day women, who are busy juggling childcare, work, and social commitments. “I like seeing women pushing boundaries and showing what can be possible with hard work and determination,” she explains. “But I also believe that many sports brands get their marketing wrong because, no matter how hard I try, I will never be a Faith. I want to see normal women or amateur athletes who are juggling a million things to break their own barriers. Kipyegon is an elite athlete who has the support and is given the means. But I’m personally more inspired by Sally – the woman down the road who juggles kids, career and an annoying partner – and still gets out to train come rain or shine. I want to see her.”
Laura Naylor, a runner and co-founder of One Track, agrees – although she does add that more views and interest in female achievements like these ultimately means more sponsorship money and, in turn, greater investment in female anatomy-specific research. But she, similarly to Pace-Humpreys, questions how this attempt is relevant for women at home, and especially those who aren’t interested in running. “It’s hard for the majority of women of a certain age to find time to prioritise exercise. Sometimes getting through the day is a win. So how can these women relate to such an attempt, unless it becomes not just an issue of sport, but of equality?,” she asks. “Where is the rallying cry to garner support from all women and our allies? This is history being made, whether the record gets broken or not. But how can we dream big when we have no support?”
Naylor goes on: “I keep coming back to Nike’s statement of ‘setting the stage for future generations to dream big’ and feel it’s missing the mark. I asked my closest friends – women in their late thirties who have children and care about their health and fitness – whether they’d heard about the attempt, and the answer was no. Now they know, did they care? Also no.”
She questions whether it really inspires women to embrace exercise or dream big, and shares that when she posed the question to their OneTrack group chat, most hadn’t heard about the attempt. That said, they all unanimously agreed that it was something to care about and be inspired by once they had heard about it. “The difference in response may come down to the runners being able to relate to the distance; they can compare the speed to their own efforts, and they have an interest in the sport.” But for those on the periphery of running – strong women who care deeply about female empowerment – it seems they don’t relate or understand the significance.
Pushing the boundaries of human potential and proving that anything is possible
That said, for every expert I spoke to who had reservations about the attempt, there were just as many who staunchly believe this is a pivotal and history-making moment for women worldwide. Run coach and founder of all-female running collective Train Passa, Lillie Bleasdale, sees the attempt as overwhelmingly positive, calling it a “benchmark moment.” “It’s undoubtedly a step in the right direction,” she shares with MC UK. “It’s hugely inspiring, motivating and exciting to be pushing the boundaries of human potential and proving that anything is possible.”
And even if Kipyegon doesn’t hit her target? Well, to Bleasdale, it’s still a moment that will go down in history and inspire women for generations to come. “Since the Paris Olympics – which was the first Olympic Games ever to achieve gender parity – we’ve seen incredible athletes in track, field and road, with Femke Bol and Keely Hodgkinson pushing the boundaries further than ever before. Even if Kipyegon doesn’t do it, the attempt encourages people at home to train hard and follow their dreams in the pursuit of something bigger.”
Lily Canter, author of Ultra Women: The Trailblazers Defying Sexism in Sport, agrees with Bleasdale, seeing the move as a welcome focus on female athletes. “I believe passionately that women in sport have been ignored, held back, and discriminated against for far too long. We welcome this focus on pushing female athletes beyond the impossible, which shouldn’t just exist in the realm of men.”
She echoes Naylor’s views – that history-making events like these are essential in reaching gender parity and, further, for showing future generations what can be achieved. “It’s only through these types of high-profile events that we’ll be able to break barriers in women’s sport. Yes, sports generally need to be more accessible and inclusive, and it’s never just about speed and records, but we should be setting aspirations for women that are just as high as aspirations for men,” she reflects.
Underfunding holding female athletes back
And she’s not wrong there. While it may have taken Nike six years to run an event for a female athlete that’s comparable to Kipchoge’s 2019 sub-2 record, they’re still the only brand, to my knowledge, pouring marketing budget into history-making events like these. They’re setting the standard, rewriting history, and changing the face of sport as we know it, a fact that’s vital to acknowledge as part of the wider debate.
It’s also worth considering that it’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation with regard to underfunding holding women back. Yes, female athletes should have been supported earlier – but sadly, society, scientists and sponsors haven’t done that, and so there will be an unavoidable lag as interest, research, and ability progress.
As Bleasdale highlights, male athletes have historically been funded more, televised more, and generally backed more, iso it’s undeniably taken some time for the playing field to level out – hence the six years between the Nike record-breaking attempts. “There’s a larger springboard for women’s sport now than there was back then,” she shares. “This is the first time where we’ve seen a female athlete of this calibre, with the ability to break such a barrier in the sport – which is partially going to be down to historical underfunding of women’s sport and lack of research available to push female athlete’s training and fuel their results. That said, we’re now seeing the results of higher investment, more research, and increased respect from higher exposure of female athletes in the media – which is only a good thing.”
Supporting women venturing into the unknown
Whatever the outcome today, Kipyegon’s bravery, spirit, determination and resilience – whether a brand play or not – will have an impact for years to come. That might be inspiring runners today, or encouraging researchers to delve deeper into the science of the female anatomy in future. Whatever the case, both seem overwhelmingly positive to me.
Canter’s bottom line is a wise one. At the end of the day, it’s only ever going to be a good thing to profile such an incredible female athlete and support her in venturing into the unknown. “We just need to be aware of the intention behind the record-breaking attempt – which, ultimately, I believe is about boosting a brand’s credibility and selling products. Let’s celebrate women – without buying into mass consumerism.”
