The Kenyan middle-distance runner won a record fourth world 1500m title in Tokyo, but she was aiming for a target that would have an even bigger impact on her sport.
“I still feel like 2023 was the most special year for me,” says Faith Kipyegon as she reflects on where the past 12 months rank in the exceptional work she has done since representing her country for the first time in 2010. It was really amazing in the championship.”
But 2025 was different. For the 31-year-old, it represented more than just sport and was about using her sporting talents as a vehicle to spread a wider message. “It was really (about) bigger goals like: “What else can I do in this sport? What else can I achieve to still be an inspiration to young girls around the world and a role model?” she says. “This year you have to think big, think outside the box.”
Kipyegon definitely had nothing to prove. Going into this year, along with his streak of breaking world records, he was a three-time Olympian and four-time world champion in track; feats that cemented his place as one of the best ever to be accomplished by a pair of spikes.
With that in mind, what else could he have done that would have had a greater impact? Yes, she would be defending her 1500m and 5000m world titles in Tokyo, but she wanted to go further, aiming for a target that would really speak to the wider world.
And so it was that in April her sponsors, Nike, revealed Kipyegon’s plan to take on the seemingly impossible and become the first woman to break the four-minute mile barrier. The closest he came was 4:07:64 from that mighty summer of 2023, but tackling the tall orders was entirely the problem.
Every element, from his shoes to his singlet and male and female sensor pacemakers, was monitored to the point that any attempt was not considered a legitimate protocol, but like his good friend Eliud Kipchoge and his pursuit of a sub-two-hour marathon, the symbolism of proving it was doable was too tempting to pass up.
The initial reaction was a mixture of excitement and skepticism. Few onlookers thought the goal was realistically within reach, but only Kipyegon truly knew how much of a leap it required, both physically and mentally. So what did he think when the idea first came to him?
“When my team started talking about Breaking Four, I said, “What am I thinking about?” I was just putting so much pressure on myself and what I wanted to do wasn’t easy,” she laughs. “We sat down and said: “Can we try this?” and I was saying: “Oh my god, will I make it?” But at the same time, I saw Eliud when he started with Breaking Two and I thought, “If Eliud tried for the first time in Monza and he didn’t succeed (in 2017 he ran 2:00:25 for the marathon in Italy), why wouldn’t I try too?
“I may be successful, I may not be, but I know that one day, one day, I will be successful. Or maybe someone else will be successful, but I’ll show them the way. We have to do it as women. We must attempt the impossible and make it possible.”
June 26 was the day chosen for the experiment. Stade Charléty in Paris is the chosen venue.
Now no fewer than 13 pacers – a squad of 11 men and two women – including American Grant Fisher and Britain’s Elliott Giles, Georgia Hunter Bell and Gemma Rickey were on hand to help the star of the show.
“The focus is all on you and you’re in another world,” says Kipyegon as he reflects on the experience. “I didn’t think. “What’s going to happen?” but I was thinking. “How am I going to solve this problem?” because it’s not easy to run 60 seconds per lap, and it was really fast. So I was saying. “I have to be myself and let the whole team do the work. I was so happy to have the whole team around me. I was given the opportunity and I said. “Let me go for it. Let me do what I have to do to make the world proud.”
Kipyegon eventually made history by running the fastest mile ever run by a woman, but her time of 4:06.42 – 1.22 faster than her world record – was not quite the result she had dreamed of.
“I learned a lot myself through Breaking Four,” says AW’s International Female Athlete of the Year. “The first was to be patient about what you want to achieve in the future. I would like to go to it again. it’s just that I’m not getting any younger and want to do other things. But I will not lose hope. I’ll still keep trying before I hit the road or the half marathon and marathon. So I will try. I will try to show the other girls that it is possible.”
However, it didn’t take long for Kipyegon to make another global statement. All that training mileage had left him in brilliant form and, rather than feeling jaded by his efforts in Paris, he strode energetically to the 1500m start line at the 50th anniversary Prefontaine Classic nine days later. The result was impressive as he clocked 3:48.68 to set his own world record of 3:49.04.
There was one more race. Kipyegon has in fact only raced 10 times in 2025 ahead of the World Championships and the long-standing 3000m world record at the Silesian Diamond League almost fell to him, his 8:07.04 missing it by just one second and representing the second-fastest time ever. All of the above meant confidence levels were high ahead of a record fourth world 1500m title in Tokyo, although nothing was taken for granted.
“I’m the fastest, I have the world record, but I still need to be the strongest,” says Kipyegon. “When you have a world record, you still have to be the best of the best.”
In the final, the Kenyan deservedly proved that he is a masterful performer.
It speaks volumes that he is loved by his opponents, but competing against him must be excruciatingly difficult. As if to highlight just how difficult the Breaking Four’s task was, trying to run four consecutive laps in 60 seconds or less, Kipyegon’s time in the third lap of the 1500m final was 60.73. Taking the lead, he glanced at the big screen, assessed the race situation and turned the screw.
“I was just enjoying the race,” she tells AW of her 3:52.15 win. “I was like. “I don’t want to push myself or make mistakes,” but I wanted to enjoy the race and do it faster and faster. Then I went back and watched it and said,
“I thought 60 (at that point) was the best thing. If you have 3:55 legs, you can win a medal. I was saying: “I’m the world record holder and it’s possible, so it was really nice to win gold for the fourth time.”
Silver followed in the 5000m, her only outing at this distance this year, finishing behind her great friend, compatriot and world record holder Béatrice Chebet.
“Beatrice is a talented lady,” says Kipyegon. “He’s going, he’s great and he can still do amazing things. I don’t think 13:58 will be his last (the world record is 13:58.06). I think he can still get it down to 1:55pm. He’s fast.”
Both returned to a rousing welcome in Kenya, as did fellow world gold medalists Emmanuel Vanyon (men’s 800m), Lilian Odira (women’s 800m), Peres Jepchirchir (women’s marathon) and Faith Cherotic (women’s 3000m).
“Whenever I go anywhere now, I’m referred to as a champion, a homegirl, like. “This is our girl who showed our country in an amazing way, representing us in a super way,” says Kipyegon. “I’m so grateful that (people) back home really celebrate us as athletes and appreciate us.”
However, the headlines have not all been positive for Kenyan athletes in 2025. At the time of writing, 20 East African countries, including women’s marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetic, have been banned for doping this year. In September, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) declared the National Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.
While WADA says it has since seen progress and the non-compliant status has been eased, ADAK is on the watch list, far from the impression the nation wants to create given its stated ambitions to host the 2029 or 2031 World Cup.
That is certainly not how Kipyegon wants to see his country. Her hope is that her example can help create change.
“It’s not easy,” he says. “But I try to be myself and just be who I’ve been from being a little girl to where I am. I know my routine. I know my ways (about my business). With the doping issues, I just hope that many athletes can learn from us, from the bigger athletes and from me.
“Hopefully, other people can follow in my footsteps or they can follow my story, like, ‘he started barefoot and now he’s here,’ and they can just get away from those things.” It will be the best image of our country instead of ruining the image of our country by getting into doping scandals. It doesn’t help and it doesn’t give you ultimate results.
He adds: “Knowing that we have great athletes…Eliud Kipchoge is an example for our country. He is the greatest of all time and lesser athletes should learn from greater athletes. A goal I hope the younger generation can follow as well.
“I was trying to focus on myself and not just get into other people’s business. It’s all about who you are. It all depends on what you want to achieve. You have to motivate the youth and tell them to go the right way, not the wrong way.”
For Kipyegon, setting standards and showing the way is very important. As it was in 2025, it will be at the forefront of his mind as he returns to training and considers the many options for what to do next.
