Breaking4
{{Short description|2025 attempt to beat a 4-minute mile}}
Breaking4 was an attempt by Kenyan middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon to become the first woman to break the four-minute barrier for the mile. Hosted by Nike, the event took place on 26 June 2025 at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France.{{Cite web |last=DeGood |first=Willem |date=2025-06-21 |title=Breaking4 is revolutionary for women in sport |url=http://www.michigandaily.com/opinion/columns/breaking4-is-revolutionary-for-women-in-sport/ |access-date=2025-06-22 |website=The Michigan Daily |language=en-US}}
Kipyegon fell 6.42 seconds short of the four-minute barrier with a time of 4:06.42, still faster than her official world record by 1.22 seconds.{{Cite web |date=2025-06-26 |title=Faith Kipyegon Runs a 4:06.42 Mile in Her Attempt to Break 4 Minutes |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a65191857/faith-kipyegon-breaking4-results/ |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=Runner's World |language=en-US}}
Background
In 1954, Roger Bannister became the first man to break four minutes in the mile, running 3:59.4.{{Cite web |title=‘Breaking 4’: How the 1st female runner could soon break the 4-minute-mile barrier {{!}} CU Boulder Today {{!}} University of Colorado Boulder |url=https://www.colorado.edu/today/2025/02/25/breaking-4-how-1st-female-runner-could-soon-break-4-minute-mile-barrier |access-date=2025-06-22 |website=www.colorado.edu |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=70 years since Bannister's 3:59.4 – "I knew I had done it before I even heard the time" |url=https://worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque/news/roger-bannister-sub-four-minute-mile-70-years |access-date=22 June 2025 |website=World Athletics}} That same year, Diane Leather became the first woman to break five minutes with 4:59.6.{{Cite web |date=2025-06-22 |title=It's a barrier women have never broken. Can Faith Kipyegon make mile history? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/track-field/barrier-women-never-broken-can-faith-kipyegon-make-mile-history-rcna214186 |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=NBC News |language=en}} As of June 2025, according to World Athletics statistics, roughly 2,000 men have broken the four-minute barrier.{{Cite web |title=One Mile - men - senior - all |url=https://worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middlelong/one-mile/all/men/senior?page=21 |access-date=27 June 2025 |website=World Athletics}}
No woman has yet broken four minutes. The women's world record is 4:07.64, set by Kipyegon on 21 July 2023.{{cite news |title=Monaco Diamond League 2023: Live updates as Faith Kipyegon demolishes mile world record as Karsten Warholm scorches to 400m hurdles victory |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/monaco-diamond-league-2023-live-updates-results}} An earlier women's world record, 4:12.56 set by Svetlana Masterkova of Russia in 1996, stood for almost 23 years, with Masterkova being the first woman to break 4:15 at the distance.
Kipyegon also holds the world record over 1500 metres, with a time of 3:49.04 set in 2024, at the Stade Sébastien Charléty. The time equates to roughly a 4:06 mile pace.{{Cite web |date=2025-06-23 |title=Faith Kipyegon Aims to Become the First Woman to Run a Sub-4-Minute Mile—Here’s How to Watch |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a65158967/how-to-watch-faith-kipyegon-breaking-4/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Runner's World |language=en-US}} Kipyegon's run has led some to speculate that the first women's sub-four minute mile may come within the 21st century.{{cite web |date=21 July 2023 |title=Faith Kipyegon obliterates women's mile world record by almost five seconds |url=https://runningmagazine.ca/sections/runs-races/faith-kipyegon-obliterates-womens-mile-world-record-by-almost-five-seconds/ |website=Canadian Running}}
In January 2025, at the Nike Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, Kipyegon did VO2 max testing along with other baseline tests in preparation for the attempt.{{Cite news |last=Tharme |first=Liam |date=2025-06-25 |title=What it would take for Faith Kipyegon to become the first female sub four-minute miler |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6447772/2025/06/25/faith-kipyegon-four-minute-mile-attempt/ |access-date=2025-06-25 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} In February 2025, a scientific study was published in the Royal Society Open Science, stating that Kipyegon could run a mile in approximately 3:59.37 under very specific conditions, achieved through ideal pacesetters and weather conditions.{{Cite journal |last=da Silva |first=Edson Soares |last2=Hoogkamer |first2=Wouter |last3=Kipp |first3=Shalaya |last4=Kram |first4=Rodger |date=2025-02-26 |title=Could a female athlete run a 4-minute mile with improved aerodynamic drafting? |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241564 |journal=Royal Society Open Science |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=241564 |doi=10.1098/rsos.241564 |pmc=11858751 |pmid=40012757}}{{Cite web |date=2025-02-28 |title=A New Study Suggests Faith Kipyegon Could Run a Sub-4 Minute-Mile—Here’s How |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a63974108/womens-sub-4-minute-mile-study/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Runner's World |language=en-US}}
In April 2025, it was announced that Kipyegon would attempt to become the first woman to run a sub-four-minute mile at a meeting in Paris on 26 June 2025.{{Cite web |last=Ingle |first=Sean |date=23 April 2025 |title=Faith Kipyegon’s audacious bid to be first woman to run sub four-minute mile |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/23/faith-kipyegon-audacious-bid-first-woman-sub-four-minute-mile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250423153851/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/23/faith-kipyegon-audacious-bid-first-woman-sub-four-minute-mile |archive-date=23 April 2025 |access-date=23 April 2025 |website=The Guardian}}
Setup and results
File:Paris Stade Sébastien Charléty.jpg]]
The event was run in a similar manner to Nike's previous Breaking2 project for the marathon and the Ineos 1:59 challenge. It was not record eligible because the custom pair of Victory Elite FK spikes Kipyegon wore were not submitted for approval by World Athletics prior to the event.{{Cite web |title=‘Strong’ Faith Kipyegon reveals: How I plan to run a historic sub-four-minute mile |url=https://www.olympics.com/en/news/faith-kipyegon-eyes-history-sub-four-minute-mile |access-date=23 June 2025 |website=Olympics.com}}{{Cite web |date=2025-06-12 |title=Inside Nike’s Prototype Gear Built To Break The 4-Minute Mile |url=https://marathonhandbook.com/nike-breaking4-gear/ |access-date=2025-06-22 |website=marathonhandbook.com |language=en-US}}
In addition to the spikes, Kipyegon wore a specially designed speed suit and sports bra.{{Cite web |date=2025-06-23 |title=Faith Kipyegon Aims to Become the First Woman to Run a Sub-4-Minute Mile—Here’s How to Watch |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a65158967/how-to-watch-faith-kipyegon-breaking-4/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Runner's World |language=en-US}}
To break the barrier, she would have to improve on her 4:07.64 personal best by at least 7.65 seconds. Kipyegon fell 6.42 seconds short of the four-minute barrier with a time of 4:06.42, which is still faster than her official world record by 1.22 seconds.
= Pacers =
Breaking4 utilized a dozen male and female pacemakers:{{Cite web |last=Dickinson |first=Marley |date=2025-06-25 |title=Meet the pace team for Faith Kipyegon's Breaking4 mile attempt |url=https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/meet-the-pace-team-for-faith-kipyegons-breaking4-mile-attempt/ |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=Canadian Running Magazine |language=en-US}}
| class="wikitable"
!Name !Notes |
| Niels Laros
|6th in 2024 Olympic 1500 m final |
| Grant Fisher
|World record holder in short track 3000 m and 5000 m, 2-time Olympic bronze medalist |
| Craig Engels
|3:51.60 mile personal best |
| Stewart McSweyn
|7th in 2020 Olympic 1500 m final |
| Jemma Reekie
|2024 800 m World Indoor silver medalist |
| Georgia Hunter Bell
|2024 1500 m Olympic bronze medalist |
| Halima Nakaayi
|2019 800 m world champion |
| Cooper Teare
|3:50.17 mile personal best |
| Elliot Giles
|World record holder in road mile |
| Wyclife Kinyamal
|1:42.08 800 m personal best |
| Stefan Nillessen
|Dutch 1500 m record holder |
| Cathal Doyle
|3:52.06 mile personal best |
Criticisms and challenges
On 26 April 2025, Kipyegon ran 2:29.21 for 1000 metres at the Xiamen Diamond League, a time 0.06 seconds off her personal best of 2:29.15 and 0.23 seconds off Svetlana Masterkova's world record of 2:28.98. This time equates to a 4:00.08 mile pace. Robert Johnson of LetsRun.com considered the attempt to be "ludicrous", since Kipyegon would be required to hold a slightly faster pace for approximately 609 metres longer.{{Cite web |last=LetsRun.com |date=2025-04-26 |title=Sorry track fans, Faith Kipyegon isn't breaking 4:00 in the mile - Can we live in the real world and not la-la land? |url=https://www.letsrun.com/news/2025/04/sorry-track-fans-faith-kipyegon-isnt-breaking-400-in-the-mile-can-we-live-in-the-real-world-and-not-la-la-land/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=LetsRun.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=LetsRun.com |date=2025-04-26 |title=Xiamen Diamond League Results - 2025 Xiamen Diamond League |url=https://www.letsrun.com/news/2025/04/xiamen-diamond-league-results-2025-xiamen-diamond-league/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=LetsRun.com |language=en}}
A scientific paper published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in April 2025 concluded that “there is no female athlete presently displaying the physiological characteristics required to run a sub-four minute mile”.{{Cite journal |last=Osborne |first=Rebekah J. |last2=Kirby |first2=Brett S. |last3=Black |first3=Matthew I. |last4=Vanhatalo |first4=Anni |last5=Jones |first5=Andrew M. |date=2025-01-28 |title=Seven (.65) Seconds Away: The Possibility and Physiology of a Women’s Sub-4 Minute Mile |url=https://journals.physiology.org/doi/10.1152/japplphysiol.00074.2025 |journal=Journal of Applied Physiology |language=en |doi=10.1152/japplphysiol.00074.2025}}
Streaming
The event was streamed live on Prime Video and Nike's YouTube channel, beginning at 7:15 PM local time. The first episode of a docuseries covering the event premiered on 20 June.