The Kenyan went under her previous world record but didn't record the first ever sub-four-minute mile by a female athlete in Paris on Thursday

Faith Kipyegon is no stranger to attempting history. Throughout her life she has constantly defied the odds and on most occasions prevailed.

At last year's Olympics she became the first woman to win 1500m gold at three consecutive Games – Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 – and that same summer set a world 1500m record of 3:49.04 in the French capital.

So it wasn't too much of a surprise that, in choosing a location for her next major goal, the Kenyan picked Paris.

The ambition? To become the first female athlete to break the sub-four-minute mile, 71 years after Roger Bannister became the first human to break the mark.

Since Bannister achieved that feat, close to 2000 runners have gone under four minutes with all of them being male. Kipyegon wanted to change that statistic.

To create history, she needed to shave over seven seconds off her world record of 4:07.64 – set in Monaco two years ago – equating to around two seconds per lap.

In sultry Parisian conditions, armed with the latest high-tech kit from Nike and with the aid of a myriad of world-class pacemakers, Kipyegon clocked 4:06.42 at Stade Sébastien Charléty.

The 31-year-old collapsed to the floor after crossing the line and held her arms against her head. Kipyegon hadn't threatened the four-minute barrier but did go under her previous world record.

However, the run won't officially count as a world record because of the male pacemakers involved. Safe to say, Nike had pulled out all the stops for this event.

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As well as a team of fellow Olympians running alongside her – including Grant Fisher, Stewart McSweyn, Elliot Giles and Georgia Hunter Bell to name just a few – Kipyegon was given a one-off Nike Fly Suit to wear and brand new super-light spikes called the Victory Elite FK.

The suit contained a revolutionary FlyWeb Bra and aeronodes, with the ultimate aim of streamlining her performance. The Victory Elite FK spikes weighed in at an incredibly light-weight 85g, described by those on the ground in Paris like "three paper clips".

Kipyegon, donned in a mix of black and purple, stood out from the 13 pacemakers involved, who all wore fluorescent purple vests. As they shot around the light blue track at the stadium, the Kenyan went through 400m and 800m in 1:00.20 and 2:00.75 respectively, just slightly above the target pace of 1:59 for two laps.

However, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the pace slowed in the second half and Kipyegon's 1200m split was 3:01.84. With her face grimacing down the final of the four back straights she ran, you could tell a sub-four-minute mile was beyond her reach.

Whether it will ever be is the obvious question but Kipyegon wants to "keep trying".

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"This was the first try and we learn from it," she said in the press conference afterwards. "I’ve got many lessons from this race and I will go back to the drawing board to get it right and I know where I want to be. I still want to try and see if it’s possible.

"I think the wavelights [set at 3:59.99] gave everything today and next time I will catch up with them. I hope one day it [sub-four-minute-mile] will be mine."