Why it matters
The mile barrier that once seemed unbreakable for men is now within reach for women. Nike is backing a new moonshot event—Breaking4—that aims to see if Faith Kipyegon, the world’s greatest female miler, can run a mile in under four minutes. If successful, it would be a historic first in women’s distance running.
Breaking four would represent not only a seismic athletic milestone, but also a symbolic shattering of long-held limits around women’s endurance capabilities. The project also reflects a broader trend in performance athletics: pushing physiological boundaries with precision science, technology, and gender-specific innovation.
What’s happening
Nike announced the Breaking4 project Tuesday, modeled after its landmark Breaking2 effort in 2017 that helped Eliud Kipchoge break the two-hour marathon barrier.
- Faith Kipyegon, a double Olympic champion and the current world record holder in the 1,500m and the mile (4:07.64), will lead the attempt.
- The Breaking4 event is scheduled for June 26 at Stade Charléty in Paris, with a custom-designed track and optimal pacing setup. Weather will dictate the exact start time.
- Nike says it is “drawing on the latest in performance innovation, athlete preparation, and sport science.”
- The event will include input from physiologists, biomechanics experts, sports psychologists, and footwear engineers.
- Kipyegon ran both her fastest 1,500m and 5,000m times at Stade Charléty.
This marks Nike’s first major women-specific moonshot in track and field—an intentional pivot to fuel equity in elite performance storytelling.
Between the lines
This isn’t just about one race. Nike is leveraging this attempt to explore the physiological and psychological frontier of female distance running.
- A recent study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that a sub-4:00 mile by a woman is “not only possible but increasingly probable within the next decade.”
- Researchers simulated time-trial conditions for elite female runners and concluded that improved pacing, race setup, and aerodynamic drafting could shave precious seconds.
- The study also pointed to a narrowing gender gap in middle-distance event performance, especially in events under 10 minutes.
One major factor is technological convergence: super shoes, pacer formations, altitude training, hormonal data monitoring, and individualized biomechanics analysis. Nike’s approach appears to be leveraging all of these tools.
Nike has been secretly mounting Breaking4 for 18 months, according to those involved in the project.
What they’re saying
“Faith is the greatest female miler the world has ever seen,” said Brett Kirby, Nike Sport Research Lab’s principal scientist. “With her talent, preparation, and the right conditions, this is the moment to ask: What if?”
Kipyegon herself added:
“Breaking four is not just about me. It’s for every woman who’s ever been told they can’t. I want to inspire girls around the world to dream big.”
Nike calls this project a “collision of belief and science”—echoing the language it used during Breaking2 to frame high performance as a test of human potential rather than limitations.
The bigger picture
The 4-minute mile has long symbolized the ultimate middle-distance benchmark—broken by Roger Bannister in 1954, but never by a woman.
- Kipyegon’s 4:07.64, set in 2023, already shattered the long-standing women’s mile record.
- The women’s mile world record has only dropped by around five seconds over the past 30 years, largely due to limited opportunities and resources for optimal racing conditions.
In many ways, Breaking4 is designed to be the female counterpart to Breaking2—a bold athletic experiment backed by corporate investment and performance science.
Breaking2 was a watershed moment in distance running. Though Kipchoge’s 2:00:25 time didn’t count as an official record, the event:
- Redefined marathon pacing strategy at the elite level.
- Validated the importance of super shoes, leading to the release of the Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%—and the eventual wave of carbon-plated shoes that now dominate both amateur and pro racing.
- Elevated Kipchoge to global icon status, shifting him from dominant runner to legend, and proving that storytelling matters as much as split times.
- Revolutionized training models, including lactate threshold optimization and in-race nutrition strategies that are now standard even at sub-elite levels.
Nike hopes Breaking4 will do for women’s middle distance what Breaking2 did for the marathon: ignite a new era, raise new questions, and unlock new standards.
What’s next
No official date has been announced, but Nike says the race will take place in a controlled environment designed to “eliminate the barriers that have held women back.”
- Expect cutting-edge pacers, state-of-the-art footwear, and possibly female-only pacing formations to ensure fairness and optimize performance.
- The biggest variable will be faith in pacing and strategy—Kipyegon will likely need to pass the halfway point around 1:59 to 2:00, and then accelerate into unknown territory.
- And just like Breaking2, this event will almost certainly be accompanied by a content ecosystem, with documentaries, digital storytelling, and product launches surrounding the attempt.
Whether she breaks four or not, the attempt will likely elevate the bar for women’s miling and inspire broader conversations about how we support, measure, and celebrate female endurance breakthroughs.
