Faith Kipyegon: Nike Explains Why It ‘Reduced’ Official Breaking4 Time

• Faith Kipyegon's official time in the Breaking4 attempt has come under sharp scrutiny after Nike provided a slightly lower time
• Kipyegon initially clocked 4:06.91, but Nike later indicated that the official time was 4:06.42, much to the surprise of fans
• Kipyegon's time is the fastest ever run by a woman in the mile distance, but it won't be recognised by World Athletics

Nike has addressed what happened to Faith Kipyegon's time during her bold Breaking4 attempt last Thursday.

What time did Faith Kipyegon run?

Kipyegon clocked a time of 4:06.42 during the mile race at Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris.

The race, which was run under special conditions, was purposefully organised for Kipyegon to try and become the first woman to run a mile race under four minutes.

The triple Olympic champion failed to go below four minutes but set a new personal best after breaking her own world record of 4:07.64 she set in 2023.

Her time last week will, however, not be recognised as a world record as Kipyegon used male pacemakers and shoes yet to be approved by World Athletics.

What was the issue with Faith Kipyegon's time?

Concerns emerged online after the race, with many users claiming that Kipyegon had run a time of 4:06.91, contrary to what was shown on the clock after the race.

Steve Magness said,

"Nike cheated. They apparently used "moving" time instead of the actual gun time. All to shave half a second off her time. It's shameful behaviour."

Jem Arnold said,

"Is this 'cheating', but everything else they were doing in this non-official 'demonstration' wasn't? Is there a line they crossed? The rules of sport are arbitrary, but sport is defined by those rules. If we're playing outside the rules, we're just not playing the same sport."

While Miguelito S said,

"I just hand-timed it and got 4:06.66. Could they have been timing off the first part of her body to cross the line? Toe instead of chest? For that matter, could the clock have started as she crossed the start line instead of the gun time?"

Nike addresses Faith Kipyegon's time

Now, it is not uncommon for race organisers to adjust the times athletes ran after the race, but it is usually by a single hundredth of a second, which in Kipyegon's case, should have been in the region of 4:06.90 thereabout.

However, the over four-tenths of a second between the initial time and what Nike put down as the official time is too huge to ignore.

So, what happened?

4:06.91 was the time Kipyegon used from when the gun went off to when she crossed the finishing line, which is typically how track events are measured.

Why Faith Kipyegon's time was 'reduced'

But given that this wasn't an official race, Nike measured the time Kipyegon crossed the start and finishing line, thereby eliminating her reaction time, which gave them the official 4:06.42 they shared.

"We captured precise timing for her 1-mile run—from Faith’s very first movement to the finish line, every frame was tracked using high-resolution photo-finish camera technology to ensure accuracy," read part of Nike's statement via Runners World.

“Every element of Breaking4 was guided by rigorous scientific analysis and independently validated by third-party experts. The data captured will not only advance our understanding of elite sport today, but also fuel research to support the athletes of tomorrow."

"For us, the achievement was proving what’s possible when athletes, science, and innovation come together."

When is Faith Kipyegon running next?

The Kenyan superstar will have a short period of time to rest before she is back in action. Kipyegon will headline the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on July 5.

Kipyegon is slated to compete in her favourite 1500m. Surprisingly, this will be the first official 1500m she is competing in this season after coming close to setting a new world record in 1000m in Xiamen.

All the races she will take part in between now and September will be part of the preparations for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Faith Kipyegon's husband embraces her

In a related report, Kipyegon was met by her husband at the finishing line.

Timothy Kitum, who is a former athlete, was in Paris in person to support his legendary wife.

Kitum won a bronze medal in the men's 800m at the 2012 London Olympics.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.

Source: TUKO.co.ke