First came Nike’s famous Breaking2 project, which saw Eliud Kipchoge break the two-hour marathon, crossing the finish line with a time of 1:59:40 in October 2019. He made history, and now it’s Faith Kipyegon’s turn.
The Kenyan athlete, and mother of one, will attempt to become the first woman to break the sub-four-minute mile, in an event Nike is calling Breaking4. Kipyegon is already the world record holder in the mile and the 1,500 meters, but she’ll need to shave at least 7.65 seconds off her world record time of 4:07.64. To achieve this, she’ll have to run each of her four laps of the track an average of nearly two seconds faster.
Kipyegon, a Nike athlete, will attempt to run a mile in under four minutes at the Stade Charléty in Paris on June 26.
The sub-four-minute mile is a landmark goal first achieved by British runner Roger Bannister in 1954. No woman has ever broken it.
Kipyegon, a Nike athlete, will attempt to run a mile in under four minutes at the Stade Charléty in Paris on June 26. Nike has said it will “optimize every aspect of her Breaking4 attempt, creating the most ideal conditions for her to push the limits of possibility.”
Like the Breaking2 attempt, Nike will create the ideal conditions for Kipyegon, in an attempt to help her make history.
“I’m a three-time Olympic champion. I’ve achieved World Championship titles. I thought, What else? Why not dream outside the box?” said Kipyegon. “And I told myself, ‘If you believe in yourself, and your team believes in you, you can do it.’ I want this attempt to say to women, ‘You can dream and make your dreams valid,’” she says. “This is the way to go as women, to push boundaries and dream big.”
“Faith is a once-in-a-generation talent, and her audacious goal is exactly what Nike stands for,” said Elliott Hill, President & CEO of Nike.
“Breaking4 is the kind of bold dream we will do everything in our power to make real — helping both elite and everyday athletes to believe anything is possible. No other brand can offer the level of expertise, innovation and support that our Nike teams can.
"Alongside Faith, our innovators are breaking barriers by combining cutting-edge sport science with revolutionary footwear and apparel innovation to help her achieve a truly historic goal.”
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