Almost three quarters of century after Roger Bannister of Britain in 1954 becomes the first man to run a mile (1.6 km) in less than four minutes, an achievement that many at the time considered unattainable, scientists say that a woman could now also break this barrier and further expand the limits of human possibility.
A study published in Royal Society Open Science on Tuesday (25) theorizes that Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, which in 2023 established the 4-minute female record of 4 minutes and 7.64 seconds, could plausibly run in a time of 3: 59.37 this year, sufficiently reducing the aerodynamic drag with the aid of specialized training companions in imposed Rhythm of the race.
Critics can discard a woman’s attempt to run a mile in four minutes and classify her as unlikely, advertising blow or mere laboratory experiment. But the study’s authors believe that a successful attempt would go out a mental barrier, inspire other women, and become a symbolic achievement in a race where they run four laps on a track, just under a minute around, still maintain a kind of mythical fascination.
“Many people said it was physiologically impossible for Bannister or anyone breaking the four minutes, and I’m sure many will say, ‘No woman will run four minutes; it’s seven seconds away,” said Rodger Kram, Biomechanical and Professor at Colorado University and one of the study authors. “But people said women couldn’t do many things, and then they did it.”
What is not yet known is whether Kipyegon would be interested in the challenge. Kram said he was sending a copy of the study to her and her coach.
In a statement on Wednesday (26), Kipyegon said from Kenya that he found the study “interesting” and added: “Thank you people take my world record performance as inspiration to imagine what could be possible in the future.”
The study postulates that the best chance for Kipyegon to break the four minutes would be through the aid of training mates to help reduce wind resistance, with one in front of you and one in the first half of the race. They would be replaced for the final two laps.
It may also be possible, the researchers say that Kipyegon can run a mile in less than four minutes without changing, if they were some of the best medium -range runners in the world.
This method, if successful, would qualify as an official world record. It allows an athlete in search of record to run faster while using the same amount of energy.
The tactic of changing the rhythm markers was used by Eliud Kipchoge, from Kenya, when breaking the two -hour barrier in the marathon in 2019. The 1 -hour Kipchoge time 59 minutes and 40 seconds in Vienna did not qualify as a world record because the auxiliary rotation is not allowed under World Athletics rules, the global athletics organ.
“If we had to do some orchestrated track race, where we put new rhythm markers halfway through the way, I think it would be good to show that it was physiologically possible,” said Shalaya Kipp, another study author and postdoctoral researcher in exercise physiology at Mayo Clinic.
Still, the study will certainly be received by skeptics. Ray Flynn, who competed in two Olympics for Ireland, has ran a mile in less than four minutes 89 times and is now a prominent agent and event director, he called Kipyegon “magnificent and bright,” but he said he didn’t think it was physiologically possible for her or another woman break the four minutes without additional sidewalk technology. He noted that Kipyegon would have to run essentially two seconds faster around to be below four minutes.
“It’s romantic to think about it, but let’s be realistic,” said Flynn.
More than 2,000 elite level men ran a mile in less than four minutes, as are over two dozen American high school corridors.
The advent of the so -called supersthens, with enhanced foam cushioning and elastic carbon fiber plates, along with advances in the construction of tracks, helped make the miles in less than four minutes more common. And the ingestion of sodium baking soda, a cool technique that helps to dampens acidity and neutralize interference with muscle contractions, is also widely used for short and intense races like the mile.
The study authors recognize that a mile in less than four minutes would have to be achieved under ideal conditions, including the absence of wind. And it may not be easy to find rhythm markers that can accompany Kipyegon.
No woman has reached less than four seconds from her 4: 07.64 mile record. When she established the record in Monaco in 2023, she ran her fourth lap alone, which annulled any potential help with wind resistance.
Ideally, the study says, a marker would run 1.3 meters ahead of Kipyegon, helping to divert what would essentially be a 15 -mile wind at an hour at that running speed. A second rush 1.3 meter back, pushing air molecules toward Kipyegon’s back and providing an additional reduction in aerodynamic drag.
It would also be possible to try to break the four -minute mark using two elite male athletes to mark Kipyegon’s rhythm all the way, says the study, but that would not be in accordance with an official record for an exclusively female race.
A totally feminine team would have “many psychological and sociological benefits,” Kram said. “I think it would be really cool to see women alone doing this.”
