Kipyegon aims to be first woman to crack four-minute-mile barrier

It remains one of the most enduring images in the history of sport: Roger Bannister collapsing at the finish after becoming the first person to shatter the four-minute-mile barrier.

- Sean Ingle

Since that day in 1954, when Bannister achieved a feat many had thought was impossible, just over 2,000 others have followed in his footsteps - all of them men.

However, the pages of history could soon be freshly rewritten after the Olympic 1500m champion, Faith Kipyegon, and her sponsors Nike, announced plans "to make the impossible possible" again by becoming the first woman to run a sub-four-minute mile this summer.

The Kenyan, who is widely regarded as the greatest female middle-distance runner of all time, holds the mile record of 4min 07.64sec. And while cutting nearly eight seconds off that mark would appear to be extraordinarily difficult, she will be armed with the next generation of super shoes and the assistance of male pacers to help her achieve her goal.

"I'm a three-time Olympic champion. I've achieved world championship titles," said Kipyegon. "I thought: 'What else? Why not dream outside the box?' And I told myself: 'If you believe in yourself, and your team believes in you, you can do it."

"I want this attempt to say to women: 'You can dream and make your dreams valid,'" added the 31-year-old, who will make her attempt at the milestone on 26 June at the Stade Charléty in Paris. "This is the way to go as women, to push boundaries and dream big."