Former Nike coach Steve Magness makes major accusations about cheating in Faith Kipyegon’s highly anticipated sub-4 attempt

Faith Kipyegon recently made a world-record-breaking attempt in a Nike-sponsored Breaking4, where she aimed to surpass the sub-four-minute mile time. Shortly after this, Nike was accused of cheating and changing the Kenyan's time by its former coach, Steve Magness.

Kipyegon fell short in her attempt to break the 4-minute barrier in the mile as she recorded 4:06.91 at the Stade Charlety in Paris on June 26. However, with this time, she did surpass her world record of 4:07.64, but it won't be officially recorded, as Breaking4 was an unofficial event.

Shortly after this remarkable attempt, Nike's former coach, Steve Magness, accused the brand of cheating and changing the time at the athlete's attempt. He shared a video of him talking about it on X, where he stated that Nike allegedly eliminated the athlete's reaction to the gun; however, ideally, in every single track race, the athlete's time starts on their reaction to the gun time.

Magness blamed the brand for trying to make it look like she ran faster than she actually did.

"The end result was she (Faith Kipyegon) did not get it. She ran 4.06.4 according to Nike. But the reality is this, when the clock stopped initially, she had 4:06.9 and that's what I reported. Then Nike and the people changed it and it went for a 6.4, and you're like, oh, maybe they adjusted the clock, but half a second down is very rare in track. It never occurs. Well, it comes out that here's what happened. And this is what I mean by cheating is in all track races, every single one, your time is the gun time," said Nike's former coach.

He further explained how they took the time from Faith Kipyegon's actual time and opened up about why it is such a big deal in the track world. Talking about having a history with Nike, he said:

"What they did is they took the time when Kipyegon essentially reacted and then first moved across the starting line, which was half a second later. Now, you might think, well, this isn't a big deal, but in Track world this is a huge deal. A huge deal because it's never done. Not in the 100-year history of track do we ever report times like this. It always includes the reaction to the gun. This put a damper on the vent, and I have a history against Nike. You can Google it, but I was excited. Kipyegon is a great runner."

Steve Magness joined the Nike Oregon Project in 2011 as an assistant coach and catered to his role for around 18 months. He parted ways with the brand just ahead of the 2012 Summer Games and got associated with the University of Houston's track and field program as an assistant coach.

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Faith Kipyegon made her feelings known about not being able to surpass the 4-minute mile barrier

Faith Kipyegon is arguably one of the best middle-distance runners in history and currently holds the world record of 4:07.64. She recently made an attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes on June 26 but fell short of doing so. Following this, she sat for a conversation in a press conference, where she made her feelings known about her performance at the Breaking4.

The 31-year-old stated that she gave 'everything' to nab the win and said that it was the first trial and she will not lose hope for the future. (Via ESPN)

"I gave everything today to try; it was not about running a tactical race. It was the first trial. I have proven that it's possible and it's only a matter of time. I think it will come to our way. If it's not me, it will be somebody else. I know one day, one time a woman will run under 4:00. I will not lose hope. I will still go for it," said Faith Kipyegon.

She further shared a message for her daughter and other young girls, saying:

"I will tell them we are not limited. We can limit ourselves with thoughts, but it is possible to try everything and prove to the world that we are strong. Keep pushing."

In 2024, Faith Kipyegon competed at the Paris Olympics, where she won her third straight Olympic title in the 1500m after she recorded 3:51.29.

Edited by Tushhita Barua