On June 26, Olympic champion and world record holder Faith Kipyegon will attempt to run one mile in under four minutes.
No woman has ever done it. In fact, her own world record of 4:07.64 is already considered one of the greatest performances in athletics history.
To break the 4-minute barrier, she’ll need to run more than 7 seconds faster, an almost unthinkable margin at the elite level. But that’s the whole point.
This is Breaking4, a collaboration between Nike and Faith Kipyegon that challenges what the world thinks is possible.
It echoes Nike’s famous Breaking2 project, which helped Eliud Kipchoge become the first man to run a marathon in under two hours.
That event changed how we think about endurance racing and spawned the carbon-plated super shoes we see everywhere today. Breaking4 might just do the same for the mile.
Controlled performance
Unlike a regular meet or world championship, Breaking4 isn’t officially ratified as a record attempt.
That’s because it uses pacing technology and a team of rotating pacemakers to create the perfect conditions.
Everything will be designed to give Faith the best possible shot, from the timing of the event (Paris in June, with fast evening conditions) to the laser pacing system, aerodynamic clothing, and specially prepared track.
It’s not cheating, merely performance theatre. And it’s as much about innovation as it is about the stopwatch.
Lightning in a bottle
Just like Breaking2 introduced the world to a new kind of running shoe (hello, Alphafly), Breaking4 gives us a first look at Nike’s next wave of performance innovation.
Nike FlyWeb, a highly coordinated mix of footwear, apparel, pacing, data and psychology, is purpose-built for Faith’s attempt.
Her “Speed Kit” features a one-piece race suit that Nike says was engineered in wind tunnels to reduce drag at high speeds.
It's built with body-mapped ventilation and compression to support movement, reduce vibration, and keep her cool under pressure.
Nike hasn’t revealed every detail of her shoes yet, but we know she’ll be wearing a custom model from the Nike ZoomX Dragonfly spike family, likely upgraded with insights from their latest Alphafly 3 and Pegasus Premium technology, including ZoomX foam and improved energy return.
Why this challenge is so difficult
Shaving seven seconds off a mile at Faith’s level is like asking an F1 car to drive 10% faster using the same fuel. At that speed, you’re dealing with human limits that most of us can’t comprehend: oxygen intake, lactic acid, muscle fatigue, psychological pressure.
That’s why every detail matters. A slightly more aerodynamic suit. A shoe with marginally better rebound. A perfectly timed pacer. If any of it helps her save just a split second, it could make the difference.
It’s also worth noting that the 4-minute mile was once seen as an unbreakable barrier for men, until Roger Bannister broke it in 1954. The fact that Faith – a mother, an athlete, and arguably the greatest middle-distance runner of all time – is attempting it now, 70 years later, says everything about how far sport (and sports science) has come.
Will she do it?
We’ll find out on 26 June. The event takes place in Paris and will be streamed live on Nike’s YouTube and Amazon Prime Video, with a behind-the-scenes docuseries called Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon vs the 4-Minute Mile dropping alongside it.
Whether she breaks the barrier or not, this attempt, like Breaking2 before it, shows just how far innovation in sport can push the human body. And if she does go sub-4? Nike’s FlyWeb system might just become the blueprint for the future of speed.
