Breaking barriers: A timeline of men's and women's mile records
FILE - British athlete Roger Bannister breaks the tape to become the first man ever to break the four minute mile at Iffly Field, Oxford, England, May 6, 1954. (AP Photo, File)
PARIS (AP) — Despite not being on the Olympic program, where races follow metric measurements, the mile holds certain prestige in the world of middle-distance running.
Faith Kipyegon fell short of further cementing her place in mile-running history when she failed to become the first woman to run the distance in under 4 minutes in a Nike-sponsored event in Paris on Thursday.
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Here's a look at some of the key moments in the record progression in men's and women's mile runs:
May 6, 1954: Medical student Roger Bannister becomes the first man to run a sub-4-minute mile during a track meet in Oxford, England, finishing in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.
May 29, 1954: Diane Leather becomes the first woman to run the mile in under 5 minutes, finishing in 4:59.6 during the Midland Counties Championships in Birmingham, England.
June 3, 1967: Anne Smith of Britain sets two world records in one race: 4:17.3 for the 1,500 meters and 4:37.0 for the mile (1,609 meters).
June 23, 1967: U.S. athlete Jim Ryun runs the mile in 3:51.1 His world record will hold for nearly eight years.
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Aug. 12, 1975: John Walker of New Zealand runs the mile in 3:49.4 at a race in Göteborg, Sweden, becoming the first athlete to finish the distance in under 3:50.
July 27, 1985: Steve Cram sets a new world record at 3:46.32. It was the last of three mile records at Bislett Stadium in Oslo by Cram and fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett during a span of six years.
Aug. 14, 1996: Svetlana Masterkova of Russia sets a new women's record of 4:12.56. She will hold it for nearly 23 years.
July 7, 1999: Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco smashes the world record in the mile at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome with a time of 3:43.13. The record still stands.
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July 21, 2023: Faith Kipyegon breaks the women's mile record at a Diamond League event in Monaco, clocking 4:07.64 in the Herculis Meeting at Stade Louis II to shatter the 4:12.33 set by long-time rival Sifan Hassan, on the same track in 2019.
June 26, 2025: Kipyegon fails in her bid to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes. She clocks 4 minutes, 06.42 seconds, surpassing her world record of 4:07.64. However, the time won't be officially recognized as the event was unofficial.
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Faith Kipyegon Sets New World Best In The Mile
Kipyegon of Kenya reacts after the "Breaking4" event, at Stade Charlety, Paris, France, June 26, ... More 2025. Triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya fell well short in her bid to become the first woman to run a sub-four minute mile here on Thursday. (Photo by Gao Jing/Xinhua via Getty Images) On June 26th, three-time Olympic champion and three-time world record holder Faith Kipyegon headed to Paris, France, in hopes of achieving the unthinkable. Kipyegon, the current world record holder in the mile at 4:07.64, attempted to break four minutes in the event. Although Kipyegon did not achieve the goal, she did set a new world best of 4:06.42. She also proved that a sub-four-minute time may be even more possible than we think. Here is a guide that details some of the specifics of what will be hailed as one of the greatest days in women's track and field history. What Is Breaking4 And How Did It Come To Be? Kenya's Faith Kipyegon (R) takes part in the "Breaking4" event in an attempt to become the first ... More woman to run a mile in under four minutes at Stade Charlety on June 26, 2025 in Paris. Triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya fell well short in her bid to become the first woman to run a sub-four minute mile on June 26. Aided by wavelength technology and 13 pacers, 11 male and two women, Kipyegon clocked 4min 06.42sec over 1.6km in perfect conditions. (Photo by EMMA DA SILVA / AFP) (Photo by EMMA DA SILVA/AFP via Getty Images) In April of this year, Nike announced its new journey, which involved the current women's mile world record holder, Kipyegon, attempting to break the four-minute barrier in the event. Kipyegon's record is 4:07.64, meaning she would have to shave off almost eight seconds to not just rewrite history but to shatter it. Despite this seeming impossible, Nike is known for investing in projects that push the boundaries of physical capabilities and human comprehension. Most notably, they did something similar with marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge. Kipchoge's venture was called Breaking2, aimed at breaking the two-hour barrier in the marathon. Nike's hope with Kipyegon was to develop a holistic system that incorporated innovation in every aspect of her race. This included shoes, her racing kit, her training, her pacers, the location of the race, the date of the race, and more. Nike utilized as much research as possible to create the most optimal conditions for Kipyegon to challenge history. The complete Breaking4 journey was heavily documented on Amazon Prime, produced by the company Box to Box, which is the same production company that developed Netflix's SPRINT and Drive to Survive. On June 26th, Kipyegon's race was streamed in several locations, including Nike's YouTube channel, Nike's Twitch stream, and Amazon Prime. The broadcast included commentary from track and field legends, such as nine-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Carl Lewis, as well as two-time Olympic medalist and champion Keely Hodgkinson. With everyone involved putting their best foot forward, Kipyegon embarked on a journey no one had ever dared to try before. The world record holder and Olympic champion came through her first lap at 1:00.02. Her time through 800 meters was 2:00.75. When she completed her third lap, she ran 3:00.22, meaning she was undoubtedly on pace to earn a sub-4-minute time. As Kipyegon moved through her final time around the oval, the pacers, as planned, began to break out of formation and cheer for her as she continued to make her way to the finish line. Despite everything lining up perfectly, June 26th, unfortunately, wasn't the day for sub-4 to manifest itself. Kipyegon and all of her strength came through the line at 4:06.42, just over a full second faster than her world record. Although she did not achieve under four minutes, it is worth noting that even Kipchoge did not break two hours during the Breaking2 project. He did eventually go on to do it later in his career. This means there is hope for Kipyegon to achieve this goal in the future. A New Record Emerged, Here's Why It Won't Count As An Official World Record Kipyegon R of Kenya takes part in the "Breaking4" event, at Stade Charlety, Paris, France, June 26, ... More 2025. Triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya fell well short in her bid to become the first woman to run a sub-four minute mile here on Thursday. (Photo by Gao Jing/Xinhua via Getty Images) Kipyegon's new time cannot be considered a world record because several rules were broken to give her attempt the best chance possible of succeeding. For this historic journey, Kipyegon utilized male pacers to help establish the pace of the race. The decision to use male pacers was made for several reasons, but the main one is that Kipyegon is already the fastest woman in history. Dropping more than seven seconds off of her already historical time is a tall ask. Regardless of gender, the necessity of using a pacer was without question. World Athletics allows pacers in races, but they must be the same gender as the competitors in the race. Since there is no other woman faster than Kipyegon, the most reliable and efficient option was to use male pacers. Kipyegon's pacers included some of the world's best athletes, including world record holder and two-time Olympic medalist Grant Fisher. 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Triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya fell well short in her bid to become the first woman to run a sub-four minute mile on June 26. Aided by wavelength technology and 13 pacers, 11 male and two women, Kipyegon clocked 4min 06.42sec over 1.6km in perfect conditions. (Photo by EMMA DA SILVA / AFP) (Photo by EMMA DA SILVA/AFP via Getty Images) Although she did not achieve what most had hoped for, there is light in recognizing that she was on pace to break the record, coming through 1200 meters at 3:00.22. This means the pacers executed their jobs well. Besides using male pacers, Kipyegon was also running in shoes that World Athletics had not yet approved. In a video posted by Citius Mag, a representative at Nike explained the science behind the shoes she wore. "This is what we call the Victory Elite FK," said the representative. 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