Faith Kipyegon, the celebrated three-time Olympic 1500m champion, is gearing up for a historic attempt to become the first woman to run a sub-four minute mile. This ambitious endeavor is scheduled for June 26, 2025, in Paris. Although this attempt will not be officially recognized as a world record due to the use of rotating pacemakers and advanced training equipment from Nike, it represents a significant milestone in women's athletics.

Kipyegon, who set the official women's mile world record of four minutes 7.64 seconds in 2023, aims to surpass this by more than seven seconds. "I'm a three-time Olympic champion. I've achieved World Championship titles. I thought, 'what else?', why not dream outside the box?" Kipyegon expressed. She hopes this attempt will inspire women worldwide to pursue their dreams ambitiously.

Her remarkable career includes becoming the first woman to win 1500m gold at three consecutive Olympics, a feat she achieved in Paris last year. She also holds the world record in the 1500m and has secured three World 1500m titles, along with a 5,000m gold at the 2023 World Championships. Notably, five of these gold medals were won after the birth of her daughter Alyn in 2018, which she credits with transforming her mental approach to both life and sport.

The history of the sub-four minute mile is steeped in athletic lore, with Britain's Roger Bannister being the first man to achieve this in May 1954. The women's record for sub-five minutes was set by Diane Leather later that same month. The current men's world record is held by Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj, with a time of 3:43.13 set in 1999.

In a related development, Kipyegon's compatriot Eliud Kipchoge made headlines in October 2019 by becoming the first person to run a marathon in under two hours, although this feat is not recognized as an official world record due to the conditions of the attempt.