Latest news with #StadeCharléty
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Faith Kipyegon breaks previous mile record: 'I will not lose hope'
Long-distance runner Faith Kipyegon may not have broken her sub-four-minute mile goal, but she still made history this week, shaving off more than a second from her previous world record with a time of 4 minutes and 6.42 seconds -- the fastest mile ever run by a woman. Kipyegon finished with an official time of 4:06.42 on Thursday at the moonshot event, dubbed Breaking4. Christophe Ena/AP - PHOTO: Faith Kipyegon, from Kenya, approaches the finish line in her attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes, at Stade Charlety in Paris, June 26, 2025. "I was coming here to try to be the fastest woman -- it's only a matter of time, and I think it will come our way," the Kenyan-born runner said afterward. "I will not lose hope. I will still go for it. I hope I will get it one day." Christophe Ena/AP - PHOTO: Faith Kipyegon, from Kenya, lies on the track after crossing the finish line in her attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes, at Stade Charlety in Paris, June 26, 2025. The 31-year-old attempted the milestone feat Thursday night at Stade Sébastien Charléty, a multipurpose stadium in Paris and the site of her 1,500-meter and since-broken 5,000-meter world records. Advertisement Her team was led by Patrick Sang, her coach of six years, and she had 13 pacers on track. Kipyegon looked confident and relaxed, wearing specialty engineered custom Nike gear -- her partner of 16 years -- including a pair of featherweight Victory Elite FK spikes; an innovative, first-of-its-kind speed suit; and a sports bra made of a revolutionary 3D-printed performance material. "I'm tired. But I feel good, I've tried," she said after her run. "I'm so grateful, and I have proven to the world that anything is possible." Christophe Ena/AP - PHOTO: Faith Kipyegon, from Kenya, lies on the track after crossing the finish line in her attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes, at Stade Charlety in Paris, June 26, 2025. The four-time World champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist previously set the world record of 4:07.6 in Monaco in July 2023. Advertisement Because this was technically an exhibition and Kipyegon's pacers included men, her new time isn't eligible for the record and won't be recorded in the history books just yet. The all-class group of pacers included U.S. track star Grant Fisher, the Olympic 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter bronze medalist. Roger Bannister ran the first sub 4-minute mile in 1954, which has since been broken by nearly 2,000 male athletes, but no woman has ever accomplished the feat. "I believe that what a man can do, a woman can do. I can be the first woman to break the four minute barrier," Kipyegon said in a promo trailer played ahead of Thursday's special event.
The Guardian
27-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Faith not enough as Kipyegon misses four-minute mile barrier by six seconds
Faith Kipyegon's dream of following in Sir Roger Bannister's long footsteps by becoming the first woman to shatter the four-minute barrier for the mile ended with her body soaked in lactic acid and defiance. And, crucially, with the stadium clock at Stade Charléty more than six seconds away from where she had hoped it would be. The 31-year-old Kenyan arrived in Paris stacked with the latest weapons in track and field's technological arms race. But having reached the bell in 3mins 1sec, just about on schedule, she found that physiology began to overpower technology. There was a consolation of sorts as she finished in 4:06.42 – 1.22 faster than her world record. The new time will not count as she was being paced by men, which is against World Athletics rules. 'This was the first trial,' she said. 'We are learning many lessons from this race. I will go back to the drawing board to get it right. And I think there is more in the tank.' Before the race Kipyegon's 13 pacemakers were introduced to the crowd – 11 men and two women. They included several Olympians, the indoor 5,000m world record-holder in the American Grant Fisher, and three Britons, Elliot Giles, Georgia Hunter Bell and Jemma Reekie. Then it was Kipyegon's turn, tiny at 5ft 2in, dressed all in black. There was a wave to the crowd, a short sprint to whirr the legs up to full speed. Then they were off, ready to tackle the 1,609 metres in front of them. It was Giles who led the way, but to the untrained eye it looked as if he went off a little too fast as it took a while to settle into formation: six athletes in a line in front of Kipyegon, one alongside her, and six behind her. The idea was to allow her to draft and reduce wind resistance. For a while, her supporters in the Stade Charléty dared to dream. Kipyegon went through the first lap in 1:00.20 and hit 800m in 2:00.75. She still looked to be going strong as she heard the bell in 3:01.84, but then the pain and lactic began to rip through her, and she could run the last lap only in a shade under 65 seconds. The trackside wave lights, which she had used in many of her world records, had been set to get her across the finish line in 3:59.99. This time, though, they kept running further away from her. 'I gave everything,' she said. 'But I think the wave lights gave everything today too. But maybe next time I can catch up with them.' Few outside Kipyegon's camp had expected her to emulate Bannister's epic 1954 feat. But Nike's executives insisted privately that there was cause for optimism that she could get close. Part of that came from Kipyegon being armed with the latest super shoes, which were lighter at 90g and more propulsive than her previous spikes. On the insoles were written two words: 'fastest known'. The Kenyan was also wearing a special skinsuit, designed to help her be more aerodynamic. And she had the team of pacers to help her cut through the air quicker. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion For months an elaborate pacing and drafting strategy was practised in Nike's headquarters in Oregon and, more recently, in Paris with Britain's Hunter Bell acting as Kipyegon. In tests, one Nike athlete had been able to run a mile 3% quicker using such strategy, compared with a test run using normal equipment and with no pacers a fortnight earlier. That gave executives confidence that Kipyegon could go close. Beforehand they walked around with 'I've got Faith' T-shirts, with the company's logo replacing the apostrophe. But faith, it turned out, was not enough. So where does that leave us? The detractors will say it was marketing hype from the beginning. But that isn't fair. This was a genuine attempt to go where no women had gone before, and Kipyegon should be lauded for rolling the dice and giving it a shot. At the press conference, she was praised by one influencer for shifting the narrative. But her face showed that she had wanted more. 'It was not easy but I wanted to prove to the world that everything is possible in life if you dare to try. I am hoping one day, one time, it will come my way.' You could only admire her resolve. But finding those seven seconds will not be easy.
Washington Post
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Faith Kipyegon falls short in bid to run sub-4-minute mile
When Olympic gold medalist Faith Kipyegon crossed the finish line after four laps at the Stade Charléty in Paris, she had trimmed more than a full second off her world record mile time, though she came several seconds short in her hunt to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes. She ran it in 4 minutes 6.42 seconds at the closed-course event Thursday, besting the previous world record, which she set two years ago.
The Guardian
26-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Faith not enough as Kipyegon misses four-minute mile barrier by six seconds
Faith Kipyegon's dream of following in Sir Roger Bannister's long footsteps by becoming the first woman to shatter the four-minute barrier for the mile ended with her body soaked in lactic acid and defiance. And, crucially, with the stadium clock at Stade Charléty more than six seconds away from where she had hoped it would be. The 31-year-old Kenyan arrived in Paris stacked with the latest weapons in track and field's technological arms race. But having reached the bell in 3mins 1sec, just about on schedule, she found that physiology began to overpower technology. There was a consolation of sorts as she finished in 4:06.42 – 1.22 faster than her world record. The new time will not count as she was being paced by men, which is against World Athletics rules. 'This was the first trial,' she said. 'We are learning many lessons from this race. I will go back to the drawing board to get it right. And I think there is more in the tank.' Before the race Kipyegon's 13 pacemakers were introduced to the crowd – 11 men and two women. They included several Olympians, the indoor 5,000m world record-holder in the American Grant Fisher, and three Britons, Elliot Giles, Georgia Hunter Bell and Jemma Reekie. Then it was Kipyegon's turn, tiny at 5ft 2in, dressed all in black. There was a wave to the crowd, a short sprint to whirr the legs up to full speed. Then they were off, ready to tackle the 1,609 metres in front of them. It was Giles who led the way, but to the untrained eye it looked as if he went off a little too fast as it took a while to settle into formation: six athletes in a line in front of Kipyegon, one alongside her, and six behind her. The idea was to allow her to draft and reduce wind resistance. For a while, her supporters in the Stade Charléty dared to dream. Kipyegon went through the first lap in 1:00.20 and hit 800m in 2:00.75. She still looked to be going strong as she heard the bell in 3:01.84, but then the pain and lactic began to rip through her, and she could run the last lap only in a shade under 65 seconds. The trackside wave lights, which she had used in many of her world records, had been set to get her across the finish line in 3:59.99. This time, though, they kept running further away from her. 'I gave everything,' she said. 'But I think the wave lights gave everything today too. But maybe next time I can catch up with them.' Few outside Kipyegon's camp had expected her to emulate Bannister's epic 1954 feat. But Nike's executives insisted privately that there was cause for optimism that she could get close. Part of that came from Kipyegon being armed with the latest super shoes, which were lighter at 90g and more propulsive than her previous spikes. On the insoles were written two words: 'fastest known'. The Kenyan was also wearing a special skinsuit, designed to help her be more aerodynamic. And she had the team of pacers to help her cut through the air quicker. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion For months an elaborate pacing and drafting strategy was practised in Nike's headquarters in Oregon and, more recently, in Paris with Britain's Hunter Bell acting as Kipyegon. In tests, one Nike athlete had been able to run a mile 3% quicker using such strategy, compared with a test run using normal equipment and with no pacers a fortnight earlier. That gave executives confidence that Kipyegon could go close. Beforehand they walked around with 'I've got Faith' T-shirts, with the company's logo replacing the apostrophe. But faith, it turned out, was not enough. So where does that leave us? The detractors will say it was marketing hype from the beginning. But that isn't fair. This was a genuine attempt to go where no women had gone before, and Kipyegon should be lauded for rolling the dice and giving it a shot. At the press conference, she was lauded by one influencer for shifting the narrative. But her face showed that she had wanted more. 'It was not easy but I wanted to prove to the world that everything is possible in life if you dare to try. I am hoping one day, one time, it will come my way.' You could only admire her resolve. But finding those seven seconds will not be easy.
Telegraph
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Faith Kipyegon fails to become first woman to break four-minute mile
An unofficial world record, just, but immortality of the sort bestowed on Roger Bannister can wait. Exactly 71 years after Bannister became the first man to run a mile under four minutes, the Kenyan great Faith Kipyegon has failed in an audacious attempt to become the first woman to emulate that feat. Despite a 13-strong team of pacemakers, which included the British athletes Georgia Hunter-Bell, Jemma Reekie and Elliott Giles, Kipyegon faded notably over the final lap of her attempt to finish in 4min 6.42sec. That was still more than some 1.22sec faster than her official women's world record but well short of an audacious target that poses a major question: If Kipyegon, perhaps the greatest female middle-distance runner cannot do it even with the might of Nike's multi-million innovation department behind her, could any woman? In fairness, the odds were always stacked against her. She would have needed to take almost eight seconds off a world record that was itself five seconds better than anyone had managed before. And, in the breeze of the Stade Stade Charléty in Paris, reality struck and the difference did indeed prove insurmountable. She had begun well enough. An opening 400m of 60.20sec was pretty much exactly what she wanted and, while she did broadly hang onto that pace to reach 1,000m in 2min 30.68sec, the sight of her steadily dropping into the group of slower pacemakers told its own story. Some may primarily see this as a giant advert for Nike and, while that part of the equation was undoubtedly fulfilled, there was much that could be taken from an occasion attended by much of the great and good of athletics, including Carl Lewis, Keely Hodgkinson and Eliud Kipchoge. Hodgkinson said that it would 'inspire' people from all over the world and, for a sport trying desperately to remain visible to a younger generation of sports fans, it was an occasion that would certainly have appealed beyond a core audience. Kipyegon's run was also mightily impressive by any normal parameters. It was a regulation track with bespoke spikes and clothing which conformed to World Athletics rules. The use of male pace-makers was the one element that prevented this being official. Like Kipchoge, who failed with his first attempt at a sub two hour marathon with pacemakers, it may also serve as a catalyst for further attempts. A paper written by a group of sports scientists who had been working with Kipyegon, largely from the University of Exeter, urged caution in a paper published last month. 'With additional specialisation in middle-distance running events, further under-standing of the physiological underpinnings of successful middle-distance running performances, and optimisation of the physiology and training of the current world's best 1,500 mrunners, we contend that a woman may break the 4-min mile barrier within the next decade,' they wrote. On this evidence, that remains optimistic.
