Olympic champ Faith Kipyegon says being 1st woman to run 4-minute mile would 'cement my legacy'

Faith Kipyegon's already a three-time Olympic 1,500-metre champion. She's already the world-record holder in the mile (1,609m) and 1,500.

Next on her to-accomplish list: Become the first woman to break the four-minute mile barrier.

The 31-year-old Kipyegon is making a run at that hallowed mark in a Nike-sponsored event dubbed Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon vs. the 4-Minute Mile on June 26 at the Stade Charlety in Paris. She set the world record mark of 4:07.64 nearly two years ago during a Diamond League meet in Monaco.

"I think breaking four will really cement my legacy," Kipyegon said in a Zoom call on Wednesday. "The next generation is looking up to us to show them the way and this is what I'm doing now. … Everything we do, we have to dream big and just believe in ourselves that we could do it."

It was more than 71 years ago when British runner Roger Bannister became the first man to eclipse four minutes when he ran 3:59.4.

For Kipyegon, finding extra speed to trim a little more than 7.64 seconds occupies her thoughts and drives her in training. But really, she and her coach, Patrick Sang, aren't altering from their routine too much to chase a sub-four-mile time.

What she's doing in workouts now has already proven highly successful. She won her third straight 1,500 Olympic title in Paris last August. A month before that, she broke her own 1,500 record on the same track where she will run next Thursday.

"For me, I would say being mentally strong and believing in everything I do," she said of preparing for big moments. "Believing in the training, believing in waking up to empower the next generation, believing in everything that has been from my younger time when I was running barefoot to where I am now. It has really given