Kenya's Faith Kipyegon celebrates after winning gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on August 10, 2024.
In Paris
If there’s anything that can unite the nation after yesterday’s socio-political tension, then it’s the power of sport. And if there’s anyone who can help sew together the tattered national fabric, then it’s Faith Chepng’etich Kipyegon.
The 31-year-old triple Olympic champion will tonight be seeking to make what seems impossible possible by daring to run the mile inside four minutes at a specially choreographed “Breaking4” race against the clock at Stade Charléty here in Paris.
Faith Kipyegon tests an early prototype of the Nike Fly Suit at her training camp in Kenya.
Briton Sir Roger Bannister turned around the men’s mile by dipping under the mythical four-minute barrier almost 70 years ago, running three minutes, 59.4 seconds at the Iffley Road Track in Oxford on May 6, 1954.
Now, Kipyegon needs to shave some 7.65 seconds of the women’s mile world record of 4:07.65 that she set two years ago at the Stade Louis II in Monaco to become the first woman to beat the four-minute barrier.
Which basically means she must run the four laps in under 60 seconds each.
Nike's elaborate plan
The attempt has been put together by American sportswear giants Nike, who have engaged an elaborate plan that covers aspects around Kipyegon’s apparel, shoes, diet and nutrition, pacemakers and even travel and accommodation plans.
Pretty much similar to Eliud Kipchoge’s famous 2019 INEOS 1:59 Challenge.
According to the event programme released here yesterday, the Stade Charlety gates open at 5:30 pm, local time (6:30 pm Kenyan time), with accredited media requested to be seated by 7:15 pm when the in-stadium programme begins.
Faith’s actual run starts at 8 pm (9 pm Kenyan time).
Faith Kipyegon celebrates after winning the women's 1500m race to set a new world record during the Athletics Diamond League in Paris on July 7, 2024.
The stadium is located on Pierre de Courbetin Avenue, a thoroughfare named after the French founder of the modern Olympic Games.
The stadium also hosts offices of the Olympic Committee of France, credited with the successful organisation of last year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“There are multiple ways Faith can approach the race, like running a constant pace and aiming for a negative split (faster second half of the race),” experienced middle-distance running coach Bernard Ouma argues.
“If you look at the World Championships in Doha in 2019, she ran the last 800m in 1:58! I have a feeling she will hack it, if the conditions are good,” he added.
Both the organisers, Nike and Kipyegon’s management team (Global Sports Communications), have kept all details close to their chest, with journalists unable to have a sneak peek into the Kipyegon camp.
One-of-one Bra
Kipyegon will also wear a new, one-of-one bra made of Nike FlyWeb, a 3D-printed TPU material optimised for moisture management, better than any typical textile.
Running Shoes
Nike have delivered a signature spike for Kipygeon called the Nike Victory Elite FK (as in “Faith Kipyegon” or “Fastest Known”). They feature completely new components designed to increase her energy return and improve her running efficiency.
Breaking4 Race
The Nike-sponsored race will cover four laps of 1,609m, which is different from the 1,500m that is famously known as the metric mile race.
Faster Pace
Faith must strike a consistent each lap of 59.75 seconds each if she is to break the four-minute barrier in the mile race.
Core Engagement
Kipyegon has to run 239 seconds so as to return a time of 3:59.00 at the end of the race.
Performance “Fly Suit“
Kipyegon’s Nike “Fly Suit” for running is a one-piece suit, the most aerodynamic apparel solution ever engineered using both computer simulations and physical wind-tunnel testing.
Image: Designed by Freepik. Illustrated by: Geoffrey Onyambu
Elite pacemakers
However, it has emerged that a cocktail of male and female pacemakers, mainly specialists in the 800m and 1,500m races, will be deployed in a strategic fashion to aid the Olympic champion.
“Creating a low air pressure pocket for Faith requires total synchrony among all the pacers in the formation,” explains Brett Kirby, Principal Researcher in the Nike Sport Research Lab.
“Experimenting with different formations is a lot like rearranging the pieces on a chess board. The timing needs to be right, the group positioning needs to be right, and the relationship between any single pacer to Faith needs to be right.”
Kenya’s former Commonwealth 800m champion Wycliffe Kinyamal, alongside Uganda’s 2019 women’s world champion over the distance, Halima Nakaayi, are some of the athletes in Kipyegon’s exclusive hotel in affluent Paris.
Faith Kipyegon reacts after winning Olympics 1500m gold on August 10, 2024.
Also, in the mix is Great Britain’s Olympic 1,500m silver medallist Georgia Hunter Bell, also a World Indoor Championships bronze medallist.
“I’m so excited for your run… You’ve got us behind you, I’ll be there in the team, supporting you and running with you whenever you need. I know you can do it," the Briton wished Kipyegon luck.
Nike considered many factors while putting today’s event together.
For instance, Kipyegon’s travel here was timed to perfection to avoid any element of fatigue or jet lag, with the choice of Paris also considering the fact that being just an hour behind Kenyan time, the effects of travel lag would be minimal and would help keep Kipyegon’s body clock from feeling jolted.
“We knew she couldn’t arrive feeling drained. Paris having a time zone of one-hour difference from Kenya was a much easier decision than, say, somewhere in the United States, where Faith’s jet lag would be significant,” Amy Jones Vaterlaus, Vice President for Innovation at the Nike Sport Research Lab, explains.
Nike also disclosed that they sampled material from 10 running tracks globally before settling for the right footwear and venue for Kipyegon’s run.
“Our footwear solution for Faith was built on studying the interaction between Faith’s foot and the ground,” Carrie Dimoff, Senior Manager for Innovation Footwear at Nike, said.
“Our formula had to consider the track surface she’ll be running on, and the properties the surface does or doesn’t carry. While we were still landing on the location, we were able to test our spike prototypes on the exact track surface so we could evaluate energy return and traction effectiveness.”
It was at the Charlety where Kipyegon broke the 1,500m world record last year and also the 5,000m world record in 2023.
“I absolutely think there’s special energy at this track. I have beautiful memories in Paris, breaking the 5,000 world record, breaking the 1,500 world record there. And now we are going for this special one, and I think the track will bring good results,” Kipyegon reacted to the choice of the Stade Charléty.
Faith Kipyegon reacts after winning Olympics 1500m gold on August 10, 2024.
National pride
Today, the Kenyan superstar will run in a bespoke, prototype, 3D-printed Nike Fly Suit and a revolutionary Nike FlyWeb sports bra, a one-of-one bra made of Nike FlyWeb, a 3D-printed material optimised for moisture management, which is “better than any typical textile”, according to Nike.
For footwear, her running spikes will be the upgraded, featherweight Nike Victory Elite FK that considers aerodynamics and the unique ground and air conditions in Paris, where temperatures are currently extremely high, with yesterday recording a high of 36 degrees with a 27 percent humidity.
“It felt so good,” Kipyegon reacted on the Nike Fly Suit.
“The time I tried the bra and the suit was really beautiful, especially the look of it. The first time I touched it with my hands I was like ‘this is really beautiful’ and the time I put it on, it felt so great and so comfortable… it’s like you don’t have anything on your body… it’s like you have something but it’s very light… it feels so good.”
Kipyegon also paid tribute to his long-time coach, Patrick Sang, who also coaches Eliud Kipchoge.
“My coach is like my father. He has been there for me since I joined him. Coach Sang has always been telling me: ‘be patient and just focus, and you know when you train hard, you get things done.’
“So, I believe in my coach and I believe in everything he tells me to do, including to be patient and just train for it, and that something will never come easy if you don’t train for it. You just have to train and just be patient for it.”
Kenya’s Ambassador to France, Betty Cherwon, led Kenyans here in motivating Kipyegon.
“On behalf of the staff of the Kenya Embassy in Paris and the entire Kenyan diaspora in France, this is to wish you, Faith Kipyegon, all the very best as you take on the challenge of breaking 4. You are a trailblazer and a brave performer.
“We are proud of you and you have already won by just attempting,” Ambassador Cherwon, whose jurisdiction also includes the Holy See, Serbia, Monaco and Portugal, said.
“We will be cheering you on at the stadium. Thank you for flying our country’s flag high. You have done it for all of us. We are so proud of you!,” she added.
Kipyegon wants today’s run to cement her legacy.
“Breaking4 will cement my legacy. It will give hope to the next generation, as I said earlier, and for women to believe that we can expand our boundaries and dream big and just believe in ourselves that we can do it… It will cement my legacy and give hope to other women that everything is possible,” she says.
