Nike’s “moonshot” attempt at a sub-four-minute mile fell short in France on Thursday, but it still ended with the fastest mile ever run by a woman.
Armed with new spikes and clothes engineered for the event, and led around the track by 13 pacers—including 11 men—Faith Kipyegon ran 4:06.42, a second faster than her existing world record. The time does not count as a world record because of the male pacers and shoes that were out of compliance with World Athletics rules.
The shoe giant had considered multiple other locations including Monaco, where Kipyegon broke the mile world record at the Herculis Diamond League meet. Nike had proposed Kipyegon run the whole mile in a straight line, but she declined, according to a report. She had previously broken the 1,500 meter world record at Stade Charléty in 2023.
The world record holder was greeted by a modest crowd on a warm evening in Paris. Following the pacing lights and a rotating cast of men, she came through 400 meters in 60 seconds and 800 in two minutes before falling off the pace in the final lap.
The sports science behind Kipyegon’s attempt included a specially designed speed kit from Nike, a designated team of designers and scientists and 11 pacemakers. Kipyegon’s pacers were led by nine men, including U.S. stars Grant Fisher, Cooper Teare, and Craig Engels. The presence of male pacers alone disqualified Kipyegon’s attempt from being an official world record.
Nike streamed the race for free on its social media accounts.
Experts were broadly skeptical of Kipyegon’s chances to break 4:00, as she is the only woman who has ever broken 4:10; only six women have even broken 4:15. Ultimately, all the accommodations and purportedly cutting-edge shoe and clothing tech was only worth about a second in all, although she may have been able to run slightly faster with a more conservative pacing strategy.
Nike—which was set to announce its fourth-quarter earnings later Thursday—had previously seen Eliud Kipchoge break two hours in a marathon in a similar event in 2019. Kipchoge, who first attempted the sub-2:00 marathon in Italy in 2017, was in Paris to support Kipyegon on Thursday.
Alexis Ohanian’s track startup Athlos had promised a $100,000 payout to Kipyegon if she dipped under four minutes.
