Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, is the latest to throw his support behind Faith Kipyegon as she prepares for her historic sub-four-minute mile attempt in Paris.
Taking to his X account (formerly Twitter), Omanyala shared a brief but impactful message: “We have faith in you Faith.” His words came just hours after the Kenyan middle-distance icon landed in the French capital. She will take on one of the most ambitious challenges of her career.
Triple Olympic and world champion Faith Kipyegon is aiming to become the first woman in history to run a mile in under four minutes. The attempt is part of Nike’s “Breaking4” project. A concept inspired by Eliud Kipchoge’s iconic sub-two-hour marathon and will take place at Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris.
The venue holds a special place in Kipyegon’s journey. It was here, during the 2023 Meeting de Paris Diamond League, that she stunned the world by smashing the 1500m world records. Now, the 31-year-old returns to the same track with a new goal but the same determination.
Kipyegon is the current world record-holder in the women’s mile, having clocked 4:07.64 in Monaco two years ago. To break the four-minute barrier, she’ll need to shave nearly eight seconds off that time. A daunting task in middle-distance running.
The attempt, announced in April, has generated huge anticipation in the athletics world. Kipyegon, who already owns three Olympic gold medals over 1500m, will begin her chase on Thursday during the first day of a three-day window reserved for the Breaking4 race.