Faith Kipyegon ran the fastest women’s mile in history, breaking her third world record in the last two months.
Kipyegon, a 29-year-old mom from Kenya, clocked 4 minutes, 7.64 seconds at a Diamond League meet in Monaco.
In her first mile race since 2016, Kipyegon crushed the record of 4:12.33 set by Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan in 2019, also in Monaco.
Kipyegon previously lowered the 1500m and 5000m world records on consecutive Fridays in June.
“I do not know how I am doing this because it just keeps going really in a good way,” she said, according to meet organizers. “When I started this season, my goal was to just break the 1500m world record.”
The eighth of nine children growing up on a farm in the Kenyan Rift Valley, she switched from soccer to running after winning a one-kilometer race in P.E. class. She later earned the nickname “Sniper” from arguably the best American miler in history and won the last two Olympic 1500m titles, having daughter Alyn in between.
She is expected to race the 1500m and 5000m at next month’s world championships. The mile is not on the Olympic or world championships program.
No woman has won both the 1500m and the 5000m at a single world championships (or Olympics).
