Kipyegon confident of shattering sub-four minute mile barrier in France

Triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon says she is determined to make history as the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes at the Nike challenge set for the 26th of June in Paris.

Speaking after the Xiamen Diamond League, Kipyegon said she is determined to break the record and be an inspiration to many women that nothing is impossible with discipline and hard work.

“I am determined to run under four minutes, it’s a good challenge for me and many in the world. I want to inspire many women in the world that nothing is impossible. More details about the race will be released soon,” said Kipyegon, a mother of one.

Kipyegon narrowly missed breaking Svetlana Masterkova’s 29-year-old women’s 1000m world record at the Diamond League with a time of 2:29.21, attributing her performance to thorough training.

“I have been training very well with my team that is why I am able to put in such a performance. I hope and pray that I will stay injury-free and have a great year,” she added.

With the World Championship set for Tokyo this September, the 1500m and mile world record holder hopes to stay injury free and continue conquering the world.

She set the current mile world record of 4:07.64 in 2023, chopping almost five seconds off Sifan Hassan's 2019 timing.

“I want to keep training hard and giving my best in everything that I do I believe if I stay fit it will be a great year for me,” she stated.

In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in Vienna in a time of 1:59:40.2, becoming the first person in history to do a sub-two-hour marathon.