Not only will Faith Kipyegon put the eyes of the world on her sport, as Ben Bloom discovers her sub-four mission might also alter the face of coaching methods forever
How does an extraordinary athlete, who has already run a mile almost five seconds quicker than any woman in history, possibly prepare to knock seven more off her time?
It is a herculean undertaking that will have occupied much of Faith Kipyegon and her esteemed coach Patrick Sang’s thoughts in recent weeks since her audacious quest was announced to become the first woman ever to run a mile in under four minutes.
The Kenyan will have the benefit of assistance for her attempt in Paris, rendering it unratifiable under World Athletics rules. The precise details have not been released, but it will almost certainly include the latest prototype Nike shoes, male pacemakers and perhaps some sort of wind-shielding protocol or streamlined kit.
Regardless, Kipyegon will still have to propel herself at faster speeds for a longer time than she has ever managed before.
“If she didn’t believe in herself, I don’t think she would have taken on the project, so that makes me think she’s capable of coming really close to it,” says Bram Som, who coached Kipyegon before her switch to Sang in 2017, and created the Wavelight pacemaker technology that will be employed in Paris.
“She always has a really good feeling between what her body needs and what is on the programme, when to push and when not. When there has to be something done – like when we were working towards a big championship – there was a huge focus. She could do things in training that I didn’t even know she was capable of. She is strong like that – able to really push when she needs to.”
Kipyegon began her 2025 campaign with a narrow miss at a 1000m world-record attempt in Xiamen, finishing 0.23 off the 2:28.98 time recorded by Russia’s Svetlana Masterkova in 1996. To achieve the improbable of dipping under the four-minute mark for the mile, she must maintain that pace almost exactly for the remaining 609m in Paris.
Geoff Wightman, who coached his son Jake to world 1500m gold in 2022, believes the first hurdle to overcome is psychological.
“Until somebody does it, everyone thinks it’s impossible, out of reach or generations away,” he says. “Roger Bannister’s record only lasted a matter of weeks before it was broken.
“Faith ran 1000m for a season opener at exactly the right speed. So if you…
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