Ben McCrum
Nike have spoken out to respond to claims that they made errors about Faith Kipyegon's sub-4 mile attempt, making it look faster.
Kenyan athlete Kipyegon attempted to achieve greatness and become the first woman to run a mile in less than four minutes at Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris last week.
The 31-year-old was competing in the Nike-sponsored “Breaking4” event, but as she came to the homestretch it became clear that she was going to fall just short of the historic achievement.
Ultimately, Kipyegon crossed the line with a highly impressive final time of 4:06.91, breaking her own world record of 4:07.64, which was set back in 2023, however the time would not count as it did not follow strict competition rules.
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But a minute later, fans were left confused as broadcaster Paul Swangard confirmed that Kipyegon's official time was 4:06.42, nearly half a second faster than her previously announced time.
After the discrepancy was noticed, Athletics outlet Runner's World reached out to Nike for an explanation, asking them to reveal exactly what caused the difference.
In a statement, Nike confirmed: "Breaking4 was always about redefining the limits of human potential and it resulted in a breakthrough moment in athletic performance.
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"For us the achievement was proving what’s possible when athletes, science, and innovation come together.
“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.
“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.”
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Reacting to the statement, one fan took to social media platform Reddit to suggest that Nike had intentionally 'fudged' the timings in order to make their athlete and event look better.
They claimed that the explanation appears to reveal that the original time that was announced and seen on the clock in the stadium was Kipyegon's 'gun time,' essentially the time that started once the gun signalling the beginning of the race was fired.
Meanwhile the quicker 4:06.42 time began once she crossed the starting line, meaning that it did not take into the account her reaction time or her first movement.
Typically, it is the former method that is used to report track times, and therefore Nike's decision to use the latter is what led to some fans questioning their intentions.
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SPORTbible have reached out to Nike for further comment.