Faith Kipyegon’s audacious bid to be first woman to run sub four-minute mile

Faith Kipyegon holds the women’s mile record of 4min 07.64sec but the odds are stacked against her breaching the four-minute mark. Photograph: Nike

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. 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.