Scientists: Women Can Break the 4-Minute Mile Too — A Challenge Set by Men 70 Years Ago
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On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister achieved something remarkable.
reached an objective previously considered unachievable
– the four-minute mile.
More than seven decades later, experts believe that women runners of today are prepared to tackle this challenge.
In a recent study, researchers have disclosed that
Kenyan Olympian Faith Kipyegon
, aged 31, possesses the ability to complete a four-minute mile.
If everything goes perfectly, they estimate Kipyegon might run a mile in 3:59:37, which would beat Bannister’s record-breaking time by 0.3 seconds.
Professor Roger Kram, who leads the research at the University of Colorado Boulder,
Colorado
Boulder suggests that running a four-minute mile was once considered the athletic equivalent of climbing Mount Everest for the first time.
“Before Bannister, it was deemed unachievable — surpassing the boundaries of human capability,” explains Professor Kram.
In 2023, when Kipyegon broke the women’s world record for the mile with a timing of 4:07.64, she was merely three percent away from achieving the coveted four-minute barrier.
With proper coaching, cutting-edge footwear, and a meticulously planned group of pace setters, researchers believe Kipyegon might become the inaugural female athlete to break through what appears to be an insurmountable threshold.
Faith Kipyegon is among the top middle and long-distance runners globally.
and is the current world record holder for the mile and 1,500 metres.
Even though she hasn’t dismissed the idea of running a four-minute mile, reducing the remaining milliseconds will demand more than just an outstanding athletic effort.
If she wants to push herself beyond the four-minute barrier, Kipyegon’s biggest obstacle will be wind resistance.
The research team estimates that for an athlete with Kipyegon’s dimensions, the wind resistance they encounter would be equivalent to about two percent of their body weight when running at a four-minute mile speed.
Eliminating that force entirely would decrease the required running energy by approximately 12 percent, enabling them to achieve even higher velocities.
When Kipyegon broke the women’s mile record at the Monaco Diamond League, the circumstances were nearly ideal.
There was absolutely no breeze, and the moist air decreased overall drag.
Similar to how cyclists draft within a peloton, Kipyegon competed in the race alongside a pace setter who moved ahead to shield her from the wind—a crucial factor for making a run at breaking records.
Professor Kram states: “The athlete ahead is essentially displacing the air molecules as they move.”
After carefully reviewing the race tapes, Professor Kram observed that Kipyegon’s pace-setters moved at an excessively rapid pace, causing a widening gap between them and leaving her more exposed to air resistance.
On the last lap, her pace car fell behind and left her to face the full brunt of the wind resistance solo.
In an optimal scenario, she would be accompanied by pacers both ahead and behind for the initial half-mile. Then, a new set of fresher pacers would take over to lead her through the final half-mile segment.
Combined, these changes could reduce air resistance by 76 percent.
Given her 2023 performances, Kipyegon could potentially achieve a sub-four-minute mile just through optimal pacing.
Shalaya Kipp, who is both an Olympic middle-distance runner and a sports scientist, co-authored this study. She states, “Our findings indicate that with optimal conditions and various favorable drafting situations, she might be able to run sub-4 minutes.”
‘It’s incredibly thrilling that we are now discussing and examining the boundaries of women’s athletic capabilities as well.’
This is the identical method that enabled
In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge achieved the feat of running the first sub-two-hour marathon.
Prior to taking on the challenge, Kipchoge’s previous best time was merely three percent away from the two-hour barrier—a similar discrepancy that Kipyegon aims to overcome in the mile event.
To achieve his remarkable time of 1:59:40, Kipchoge utilized a team of seven pace setters. This group consisted of five runners positioned ahead in a ‘V’ shape and two more running alongside him at the back.
Kipchoge similarly laced up a pair ofNike Vaporfly prototypes for his run.
proved controversial
for their performance-boosting credentials.
Professor Kram and his collaborators now think that Kipyegon could leverage their research to potentially execute another groundbreaking performance.
The authors mention that they reached out to Kipyegon and her sponsor, Nike, inviting them to test their hypothesis.
The final sentence of their document states: ‘We hope that Ms Kipyegon will have the chance to prove our forecast right on the running track.’
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