In 2023, Faith Kipyegon broke three women's world records in middle-distance running, including an impressive mile time of 4:07. Biomechanist Rodger Kram observed her race, noting that she faced substantial wind resistance due to poor drafting from her pacemakers. Kram and his team propose that with optimal pacing strategies, Kipyegon could potentially run a mile in under four minutes. This echoes historical skepticism surrounding performance limits in athletics, suggesting advancements in running techniques could facilitate extraordinary achievements.
"So she really had pretty poor aerodynamic drafting when she broke the record," Kram, of the University of Colorado Boulder.
"I'm sure people are going to say no way, women can't run under four minutes," says Kram. But he notes that people thought it was physiologically impossible for men to run that fast until Roger Bannister did in 1954.
"That got us thinking that maybe if we improved drafting and reduced the force that the air exerts to slow you down, whether she could break 4 minutes." Kram and his colleagues began to explore what they could accomplish with the right pacing.
"With pitch-perfect pacing both in front of and behind Kipyegon, she could run 3:59 for a mile, researchers reported this week in the journal Royal Society Open Science."
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