NAIROBI, Kenya, June 27, 2025 – Despite narrowly falling short of writing history, triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon admits she was enamoured by the love shown by the crowd at the Stade Charlety on Thursday night.
Kipyegon says she did not expect such a capacity crowd to show up and cheer her on as she attempted to become the first woman to run the mile in under four minutes.
“I did not expect such a large turn out but I am happy everyone came out to support me. I thank the pacers for an amazing job and pushing me,” she said.
It was a crowd that broke the barriers of colour, race and cultural background as they all – united by their love for athletics – shouted themselves hoarse to encourage Kipyegon towards her historic target.
In the end, Kipyegon had to contend herself with 4:06.42 – just six seconds shy of history but nonetheless the fastest time ever by a female athlete in the mile.
It was much faster than the world record she set at the Monaco Diamond League – 4:07.64 – in 2023.
The ever-smiling Kipyegon exuded confidence that the record shall fall — one day.
“Today we showed that anything is possible if you believe. I am sure in the future if not me then someone else will run under four minutes,” the four-time world champion said.
Backed by her sponsor Nike, everything had been set in place for Kipyegon to make history.
The four-time world champion was clad in specially engineered Nike Fly Suit — designed to reduce air resistance — as well as customised racing spikes, modeled after her trusted Zoom Victory 2s.
To push her towards history was a star-studded cast of pacemakers, including fellow Kenyan, Commonwealth Games 800m champion Wycliffe Kinyamal, Niels Laros (Netherlands), Grant Fisher and Craig Engels (USA), Stewart McSweyn (Australia), Jemma Reekie and Elliot Giles (Great Britain) and Halimah Nakaayi (Uganda).
They operated in a wind-blocking V-formation: five pacers up front to shield her from headwinds, with Fisher running shoulder-to-shoulder and the rest forming a protective pack behind.
