Breaking4, Building More: Faith Kipyegon's Mile Attempt Is About Much More Than a Record

As Faith Kipyegon prepares to chase the elusive sub-4-minute mile, the world is invited to witness a landmark moment in sport. Nike is broadcasting the feat worldwide. But is this really the rallying cry women’s sport needs—or simply another moment that risks passing too many by?

On June 26, the world will witness a bold, barrier-breaking attempt by Kenyan middle-distance icon Faith Kipyegon, who is setting her sights on a feat never before achieved by a woman: the sub-4-minute mile. Already the current mile world record holder (4:07.64, set in 2023), Kipyegon will aim to cut over seven seconds from her own time at Paris’ Stade Charléty in front of a live crowd and a global audience via livestream.

Backed by long-time partner Nike, the event will be broadcast on multiple platforms—including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Douyin, and Prime Video—with a new two-part documentary series, Breaking4, premiering in the lead-up to and aftermath of the attempt.

While the athletic feat is undisputedly monumental, it’s raised questions among some in the running community: why has it taken so long for this moment to arrive? And is the narrative strong enough to inspire those outside the track world?

"There’s no doubt that this is an important moment but I’d argue that there are so many reasons aside from a world record attempt that make it so." That’s Laura Fletcher, co-founder of OneTrack, who believes that Nike’s storytelling isn’t reaching far enough beyond the inner circle of the sport.

“I keep coming back to the Nike statement ‘setting the stage for future generations to dream big’ and how 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? No. Now they know, did they care? No. Does it inspire them to move – inspire them to dream big? No."

Fletcher contrasts this with the reception among her running club community:

"I posed the same questions to our group chat for OneTrack Club, a community for people who run, and although most hadn’t heard about the attempt, they all unanimously agreed that it was something to care about and be inspired by. 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."

For Fletcher, the gap isn’t just about visibility—it’s about relatability, equity, and communication: “As soon as I explained how little scientific research is done on women in sport (and in general), that more viewers and interest in female achievement will mean more money through sponsors and brands, which will have a greater impact on research and our understanding of the female body in general, then they all cared. Their reaction reflects how women have felt for generations. How can we dream big when we have no support? It doesn’t stop us, we can and we do, but without the social infrastructure, it’s exhausting."

She continues:

“It’s hard for the majority of women of a certain age to find time to prioritise exercise, between work and families. 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 an issue of equality? Where is the rally cry to garner support from all women and our allies? This is history being made, whether the record gets broken or not.”

“We also have to consider that I’m talking about women in positions of relative privilege. Having the freedom, finances and time to exercise is a privilege. Being able to train to push limits is an even more immense privilege.”

“It may not inspire future generations to dream big now but us showing up for Faith – voting with our eyes and spreading the word – will create a ripple effect that may level the playing field for future generations. I don’t think it’s too little too late but the narrative around women in sport needs to become our own, without comparison to male achievement. I do feel that this campaign is a little bit about naval-gazing for Nike. Most people I’ve spoken to haven’t heard about this attempt – there’s been no significant build up to educate people about why this should matter to us all. It feels a bit niche."

"And to make it matter to us all, we need to relate to Faith. To elevate the woman at the heart of the story, I wish the documentary had spent more time allowing us to get to know Faith and less time on Nike product.”

“There is an argument that it’s better to be late than never.” Anthony Fletcher, fellow OneTrack founder and Sports Scientist, acknowledges the campaign’s delayed arrival—especially in contrast to Nike’s high-profile Breaking2 project with Eliud Kipchoge in 2019—but sees progress. “We also have to consider that between Breaking 2 and now there were 3 years of the pandemic where there was a lot of uncertainty. I also think that the world’s perception of female sport has changed a lot over the past year or two especially in sports like football and rugby. This paves the way for more eyeballs on this than a couple of years ago."

For him, this moment matters on multiple levels:

“There is indeed a gap in sports science research and this will hopefully inspire research groups to look into the area for more innovations/observations of female athletes. Two of the main hurdles to overcome with sports science research is that women are more expensive and take more time to study in comparison to males. This is slowly changing with innovations in hormone testing, technological trackers etc but it’s a challenge still when most of the research is done by students trying to get their degrees."

“I think there’s a positive spin in that it rebukes the narrative that women have been told forever that they aren’t strong enough, not capable, can’t, shouldn’t. This is a public demonstration of try, should, maybe, can."

“I think that the obsession with speed and strength has been with us for a millennia, gladiators and chariot races then to marathons and UFC now. It’s a primal need to test the body and see who is the best. On a personal level I applaud speed over distance more. The recent attempts of going further and further are much more hazardous to people’s health than seeing how fast we can go. To add to this the amount of money that has been pumped into the marathon over the years is huge in comparison to middle distance, I love that they are shining the limelight on female middle distance running and the idea that running for 4 minutes (or less) is a massive achievement. I see this encouraging a wave of interest in racing track and not 30 day ultras."

The Science: Why Now?

We asked Professor Andrew Jones, a leading physiologist and part of the Nike team, why the 4-minute barrier has stood unchallenged for so long. Jones says it’s not that the 4-minute mile hasn’t been broken—it’s that it hasn’t truly been attempted before:

“It’s not been tried yet because it still looks like a huge challenge. While women have been getting ever closer and Faith Kipyegon took the record to 4:07 (from 4:12) in 2023, there's still a big gap. However, with some technological and scientific innovations and with Faith in her best shape, the hope is she could get close.”

Jones cites key physiological differences between men and women, including lower VO2 max and reduced muscle mass, which make the barrier tougher for female athletes. But with innovations in priming, recovery, and gear, he sees potential.

“The main difference is that (relative to VO2max) the marathon is 'submaximal' and the mile is 'supramaximal' and so the latter relies to a greater extent on anaerobic metabolism (although the event is still predominantly aerobic). Women are around 10% slower than men over a range of distances owing to a lower VO2max as well as smaller muscle mass and power generation so there are differences on both the aerobic and anaerobic sides of the coin.”

Among the innovations helping close the gap, Jones lists: “Shoes, apparel, drafting, pacing, priming, training, ergogenic aids.” When asked if the menstrual cycle had been factored into the training block, he couldn’t confirm specifics, though acknowledged it's likely been considered.

Watch, Witness, Support

• Attend in person: Stade Charléty, Paris. Doors open 5:30pm CEST. Faith’s attempt begins at 8pm.

• Watch the livestream: June 26, 7:15pm CEST on Nike’s YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Douyin, and Prime Video.

• Documentary: Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon vs. the 4-Minute Mile – Episode 1 streaming now on Prime Video. Episode 2 arrives in July.

Whether she breaks the record or not, Faith Kipyegon is rewriting the narrative. The question is whether the rest of the world will tune in—and help carry it forward.