Keep the Faith

Kenya's Faith Kipyegon celebrates winning the women's 1500m final during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on August 22, 2023. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP)

NEARLY three-quarters of a century after Roger Bannister of Britain, in 1954, became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes, an achievement that many at the time thought unattainable, scientists are saying they believe a woman could now also break the barrier and further expand the limits of human possibility.

A study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science theorises that Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, who in 2023 set the women’s world record of 4:07.64 seconds, could feasibly run a time of 3:59.37 as soon as this year by sufficiently reducing aerodynamic drag with improved drafting off pacesetters.