Kenyan Faith Kipyegon’s bid to run a sub-four minute mile has stunned American 2016 400m hurdles Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad, who believes this endeavor could redefine the parameters for women in sports.
Triple Olympic and world 1,500m champion Kipyegon is to attempt the first women’s unofficial sub-four minute mile in Nike’s “Breaking 4” project.
The 31-year-old would attempt the feat on June 26 at Stade Charlety in Paris, where she broke her own 1,500m world record last year.
Photo: Reuters
“I’m just amazed. I’m in awe. I saw that and I heard about it... I want to be there,” said Muhammad, the International Event Ambassador for the TCS World 10K Bengaluru.
“That’s just honestly hard for me to even put into words what that means for women in sports... For women to even attempt it, it’s just honestly crazy,” Muhammad said. “She’s run, I think 4:07, which we were looking at as crazy. I’m just really, truly excited for where the bounds for women can go in the sport and to just hear a woman trying to break four minutes in my lifetime is amazing.”
The 35-year-old Muhammad, who earlier this month announced that she would end her career after this year’s season, believes age should not be a barrier for athletes to achieve their goals.
“For myself at 35, I feel almost better than ever. There’s no slowing down. We have to do things a little bit differently, but it can get done,” she said. “I think if you have the will and the drive, it’s definitely possible. So, at 31, that’s amazing for her [Kipyegon].”
World Athletics is soon to introduce genetic testing for women to tighten eligibility rules, but Muhammad expressed concerns about the intrusive nature of the procedures, adding that she needed more knowledge for an opinion.
“After hearing some women’s stories like Caster Semenya’s, it’s just how invasive some of these procedures can be and just how kind of traumatizing it can be,” Muhammad said. “When we talk about gender testing and what that even entails, I’m a little hesitant on it.”
Muhammad, who won gold in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, followed by gold (4x400m relay) and silver (400m hurdles) at the Tokyo Games in 2021, said the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo later this year would likely be her last outing.
Muhammad confirmed that she has no plans of returning to the track at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and that her compatriot Alexis Holmes, a member of the 4x400m gold-medal winning team in Paris, was someone to look out for in the future in the 400m.
“She’s a great relay runner and I think she has the potential to push those boundaries in the sport,” she added.
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