Latest news with #Breaking4
The National
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The National
Kipyegon showed we should all chase our dreams with record bid
There was a time when the 4-minute mile was considered impossible. Doctors said it might kill you. Coaches called it a fantasy. For years, it stood as sport's greatest psychological barrier a line etched in fear more than physiology. Then came Roger Bannister. On May 6, 1954, he ran a mile in 3:59.4 and in doing so, he shattered more than a record. He shattered belief systems. The impossible was possible after all. This week in Paris, nearly 70 years on, we saw another barrier bend. Another belief remade. Another dream made real. A fellow Nike athlete Faith Kipyegon ran a mile faster than any other woman in history again. With a time of 4:06.42, she broke her own world record and cemented her place as the most decorated female middle-distance runner the sport has ever known. More than a result, it was a moment. A moment built on years of work. A moment carried on the shoulders of teammates, coaches, scientists, pacemakers and belief. A moment that reminded the world what happens when courage meets opportunity. 'It was tough, but I am so proud of what I've done, and I'm going to keep on trying, dreaming, and pursuing big goals,' Faith said afterward. 'I want to show the world, and especially women, that you have to dare to try.' That spirit the daring, the dreaming, the defiance of limits is what made Faith's run more than a race. It was a moonshot. The kind of act that leaves a lasting impression on anyone watching, no matter their connection to athletics. Because the 4-minute mile literal or symbolic lives in all of us. It's the thing that scares us. The thing that feels out of reach. The thing we don't speak out loud in case we fail. Her performance wasn't hers alone. Running, especially at this level, is a team sport. Scottish middle-distance runner Jemma Reekie was among the key pacemakers supporting Faith. Alongside a crew of elite athletes she helped maintain the brutal pace and provided critical wind shelter in those unforgiving laps. But it's not just about the physical support. Faith's partnership with Nike spans 16 years a relationship built not only on elite gear and science, but belief. Belief in her ability. Belief in the idea that women from Kenya, mothers, leaders, and athletes of every background deserve a platform to push the limits of what's possible. That belief is stitched into every detail of this Breaking4 performance. Nike's holistic approach from coaching, to data, to innovation shows that progress isn't random. It's built, tested, sharpened, and refined. But at the centre of it all, there must be a human heart with drive willing to push both mind and body. As Steve Prefontaine said: 'To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.' Faith has never sacrificed her gift. She's honoured it not just with wins, but with consistency, humility, and hunger. She showed that we should chase the thing that seems out of reach. Her amazing documentary shows the struggle and how to still press forward. We might not have pacemakers or super spikes. But we all have a finish line we're trying to cross. For me, as someone navigating paralysis, injury, and illness, the 4-minute mile looks different. It's found in rehab progress, mental battles, days where the body says no but the spirit insists otherwise. My miles are measured in persistence. Faith's performance is a reminder that personal bests are sacred, even when no one sees them. Maybe especially then. So what's your mile? Is it finishing therapy? Returning to the field? Starting something you've always put off? Or just waking up and choosing not to give up today? Whatever it is let Faith's words echo: You have to dare to try. Her run wasn't just a world record. It was a message. A beacon. A moonshot that says: this is what's possible when you go all in. History doesn't only belong to the fastest. It belongs to the brave. To the ones who keep showing up. The ones who run when no one's watching. The ones who believe fiercely that their dream matters. Faith Kipyegon believed and for those four laos of the Olympic track in Paris I cheered as loud as possible with broken ribs at the Television in the hope that she felt every step of this beautiful miles energy and truly lived in the moment.
The Herald Scotland
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Kipyegon showed we should all chase our dreams with record bid
Doctors said it might kill you. Coaches called it a fantasy. For years, it stood as sport's greatest psychological barrier a line etched in fear more than physiology. Then came Roger Bannister. On May 6, 1954, he ran a mile in 3:59.4 and in doing so, he shattered more than a record. He shattered belief systems. The impossible was possible after all. This week in Paris, nearly 70 years on, we saw another barrier bend. Another belief remade. Another dream made real. A fellow Nike athlete Faith Kipyegon ran a mile faster than any other woman in history again. With a time of 4:06.42, she broke her own world record and cemented her place as the most decorated female middle-distance runner the sport has ever known. More than a result, it was a moment. A moment built on years of work. A moment carried on the shoulders of teammates, coaches, scientists, pacemakers and belief. A moment that reminded the world what happens when courage meets opportunity. 'It was tough, but I am so proud of what I've done, and I'm going to keep on trying, dreaming, and pursuing big goals,' Faith said afterward. 'I want to show the world, and especially women, that you have to dare to try.' That spirit the daring, the dreaming, the defiance of limits is what made Faith's run more than a race. It was a moonshot. The kind of act that leaves a lasting impression on anyone watching, no matter their connection to athletics. Because the 4-minute mile literal or symbolic lives in all of us. It's the thing that scares us. The thing that feels out of reach. The thing we don't speak out loud in case we fail. Her performance wasn't hers alone. Running, especially at this level, is a team sport. Scottish middle-distance runner Jemma Reekie was among the key pacemakers supporting Faith. Alongside a crew of elite athletes she helped maintain the brutal pace and provided critical wind shelter in those unforgiving laps. But it's not just about the physical support. Faith's partnership with Nike spans 16 years a relationship built not only on elite gear and science, but belief. Belief in her ability. Belief in the idea that women from Kenya, mothers, leaders, and athletes of every background deserve a platform to push the limits of what's possible. That belief is stitched into every detail of this Breaking4 performance. Nike's holistic approach from coaching, to data, to innovation shows that progress isn't random. It's built, tested, sharpened, and refined. But at the centre of it all, there must be a human heart with drive willing to push both mind and body. As Steve Prefontaine said: 'To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.' Faith has never sacrificed her gift. She's honoured it not just with wins, but with consistency, humility, and hunger. She showed that we should chase the thing that seems out of reach. Her amazing documentary shows the struggle and how to still press forward. We might not have pacemakers or super spikes. But we all have a finish line we're trying to cross. For me, as someone navigating paralysis, injury, and illness, the 4-minute mile looks different. It's found in rehab progress, mental battles, days where the body says no but the spirit insists otherwise. My miles are measured in persistence. Faith's performance is a reminder that personal bests are sacred, even when no one sees them. Maybe especially then. So what's your mile? Is it finishing therapy? Returning to the field? Starting something you've always put off? Or just waking up and choosing not to give up today? Whatever it is let Faith's words echo: You have to dare to try. Her run wasn't just a world record. It was a message. A beacon. A moonshot that says: this is what's possible when you go all in. History doesn't only belong to the fastest. It belongs to the brave. To the ones who keep showing up. The ones who run when no one's watching. The ones who believe fiercely that their dream matters. Faith Kipyegon believed and for those four laos of the Olympic track in Paris I cheered as loud as possible with broken ribs at the Television in the hope that she felt every step of this beautiful miles energy and truly lived in the moment.
RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Cathal Doyle is desperate to race after 'crazy' Faith Kipyegon pacing duties
The old and somewhat tiring joke goes, that you can find the Irish at everything, and Faith Kipyegon's 'Breaking4' project was no exception. Kipyegon didn't manage to become the first woman to break the four-minute barrier for the mile, but she did achieve the fastest time ever run with a 4:06.42 clocking and in the process has inspired one of her Irish pacers from the bid. Cathal Doyle, Olympian, multiple national record holder and probably the gutsiest man in Irish athletics, was one of a long list of pacers to assist Kipyegon in the 1609m exhibition run at the Stade Charlety in the French capital on Thursday evening. Doyle says running three laps with Kipyegon is up there with one of the best experiences he has had in his 27 years. "It was probably just one of the coolest things you'll probably ever do, it was just a bit crazy because I've never paced a race before, especially at that kind of level," Doyle told RTÉ Sport. Doyle walked down the tunnel onto the track in the French capital that just ten months ago saw him progress to the Olympic semi-final, to be the tip of the 'shield' formation for Kipyegon after some gruelling training with the Nike team leading the project. "Training was actually pretty intense… We had two sessions every day in the morning and evening. We were shown on a laptop the formation. And I was like, 'Oh, I've kind of drawn the short straw here'." The five-time national champion explains that he ran in the middle of lane two, where there were markers for him to follow, meaning he ran marginally further than the rest, which can make pacing trickier. The Nike team, meticulous in their planning, attempted to cover every possible scenario that the athletes learned through dozens of repetitions. "There was just scenario after scenario, there must've been about six different scenarios. The front five of us around Faith were the shield. And then the guys around near her were the 'spoiler'. "Luckily for my job, I actually didn't have to think. All I had to do was just run hard and stay in line where I was…it was just a lot of practice." "Luckily for my job, I actually didn't have to think. All I had to do was just run hard and stay in line where I was… It was just a lot of practice." Doyle reveals the call to be involved came only last week, thanks to some intervention from training partner and fellow Nike-sponsored athlete Elliot Giles. "He (Giles) asked if he could bring a training partner, and then they realised this guy can pace when they looked up my personal bests. "I only knew I was doing it less than a week ago, there wasn't even a second thought." For any athlete racing on the circuit, it can become monotonous quickly. Doyle is no exception, running almost 25 races last season and 12 already this year, so the 'Breaking4' project offered a change from the continuance of the track season. "You never get a chance to do stuff like this, running meets is cool and it's fun and all, but at the same time, they're all the same. So, this was a little bit different." "You never get a chance to do stuff like this, running meets is cool and it's fun and all, but at the same time, they're all the same. So, this was a little bit different." There were doubts from both fans and media of the sport as to whether the goal was achievable, but Doyle details that there was no question of its feasibility among the 13 pacers, and it was vital those around Kipyegon believed. "Everyone was just so focused on their role. There wasn't even a question of, will she do it or not? "In there, you're starting to believe that maybe she could do it, but apparently a 3:59 mile for a woman equates to a 1:58 men's marathon. "So, it was even more difficult than the 'Breaking2 ' project with (Eliud) Kipchoge. But everyone was fully invested." The event, organised by the shoe brand that has become synonymous with technology, development and science-backed projects like the one Doyle took part in, also specified that the pacers didn't tell Kipyegon the exact time per lap, allowing her to focus only on the task. "She didn't actually know the paces either. We were strictly told 'don't tell her'. "No talk of splits on the warm-up - zero talk, do not mention splits. She hadn't a clue so all she had to do was hold on for dear life." The stadium had a sizeable crowd, not full, but not bad for realistically four minutes of entertainment. The Irish Olympian explained he wasn't sure how a visibly nervous Kipyegon kept it together, knowing that it would be a rare scenario in which all eyes are exclusively on her. "I don't even know how she could pull it together. You walked out and a couple of thousand people there and they're all cheering for just her on the line." "I don't even know how she could pull it together. You walked out and a couple of thousand people there and they're all cheering for just her on the line." Doyle is now excited to get back racing after six days in the French capital working towards something "crazy" which has changed his perspective on his own goals. Which is exactly why Kipyegon attempted the near-impossible feat in the first place. "I'm actually pretty buzzing now to race again and train, even though I was just among the 10 others, it's just being around really good people and really successful people. It does rub off on you and then you kind of feel like, 'oh, I want to be that as well now'."
Time of India
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Kenya's Kipyegon falls well short in bid for first sub-four-minute mile
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon fell short in her attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes on Thursday when she clocked 4:06.42 in a Nike "Breaking4" project that, though faster than her own world record, will not be ratified. The 31-year-old triple world and Olympic 1,500 metres champion had needed to take more than seven seconds off her own 2023 world record of 4:07.64 but, despite a series of aids, managed just over one second. She was helped by innovative new kit, super-spikes and, crucially, a phalanx of mostly male pacers who blocked the wind on the four and a bit laps of the Stade Charlety track where she set her 1,500m world record last year. Dressed in a black one-pieced suit with black arm warmers, the diminutive Kenyan was swamped by her group of pacers, mostly men and all world class athletes themselves. In a pre-designed plan, a group of five men ran in a line in front of her as "the shield" with American double Olympic bronze medallist Grant Fisher on her shoulder. Live Events She was about on course at halfway but began to slip behind the coloured pacing lights inside the track and drifted on the final lap as she tied up over the last 200 metres. Those male pacers meant, just as with compatriot Eliud Kipchoge's sub-two-hour marathon run with "in and out" pacers in 2019, that the new mark will not be recognised as a world record. Kipyegon, however, was her usual upbeat self at the finish. "I'm tired but I feel good and I tried," she said, thanking the crowd of around a thousand people who had given her enthusiastic support. "That is why I was coming here - to try to be the first woman to run under four minutes. It's only a matter of time but I think it will come our way. If it's not me, it will be someone else. "So, yeah, I know one day, one time, a woman will run under four. I will not lose hope. I will still go for it and if there's not something like this, a special one, I think in a normal Diamond League, or anything, I will still go for it and I hope I will get it one day." Britain's Roger Bannister was the first man to go under four minutes in May 1954, with compatriot Diane Leather the first woman to break five minutes later the same month. The current men's record is the 3:43.13 set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999.
The Guardian
21 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Faith Kipyegon misses four-minute mile barrier by six seconds
Faith Kipyegon ran a 4:06.42 mile in an attempt to become the first woman to run a mile under four minutes. Running as a part of Nike's 'Breaking4' project, the three-time 1500m Olympic Champion broke her own record by 1.22 seconds. However, the new time won't count because she was being paced by men, which is against World Athletics rules. Speaking after the race, Kipyegon said: 'I will say I gave it all.' She added: 'I think that next time I will still keep giving it all and see where I will make it but I hope, one day, one time, it will be there.'
