Triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya will attempt to make history by becoming the first woman to run a sub-four minute mile on Thursday, but to do so she must shave nearly eight seconds off her world record.
Already the world record holder in this non-Olympic distance equivalent to 1. 6km, Kipyegon will nevertheless have to smash her own benchmark of 4min 07. 64sec by gaining almost two seconds per 400m.
No woman has ever attempted the feat, which was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister — in 3min 59. 4sec — in what has gone down as one of track running’s most momentous achievements.
In the unofficial race in Paris organised by Nike, 31-year-old Kipyegon will benefit from the wealth of her sponsor’s technological support.
The “Breaking 4” project follows on six years after Eliud Kipchoge’s “Breaking 2” — when the Kenyan became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours.
For the attempt, Kipyegon will sport a custom-made suit as well as new Victory Elite FK shoes. She will also reportedly be accompanied by a team of male pacemakers around the Stade Charlety track.
Despite all this, some believe that the task of trimming nearly eight seconds off her world record time will be beyond the three-time Olympic 1500m gold medallist.
“Spoiler alert. She’s not going to break 4:00. And it’s not going to be particularly close,” said Robert Johnson, co-founder of the specialist site LetsRun. com.
She did a fantastic job, showing why Kipyegon is one of the best in track andamp;;, and nearly breaking a world record in your season opener. Field’s greatest of all time, Johnson said.
“If you run 2:29. 21 1000m pace for 1609 meters -— otherwise known as a mile — You get 4:00. 08. . Kipyegon would need to run an additional 609 meters faster to break 4:00. than what she accomplished that day. ”
However, Kipyegon has the support of some other long-distance Olympians, according to Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who stated to AFP: “I’m really interested to see if it’s possible.
Source: Channels TV
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