Kerr breaks 27-year-old mile world record in London
Josh Kerr ran 3:42.66 at the London Diamond League, beating Hicham El Guerrouj’s mile record by 0.47 seconds.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Josh Kerr broke the men’s mile world record at the London Diamond League on Saturday, ending a mark that had stood since 1999. According to AFP and Reuters, the 28-year-old Briton finished in 3 minutes 42.66 seconds at London Stadium, beating Hicham El Guerrouj’s record by 0.47 seconds.
The run also cut nearly three seconds from Kerr’s personal best. AFP and Reuters reported that the race took place before a crowd of about 60,000, with Kerr becoming the sixth Briton to hold the mile world record.
Kerr had made the record attempt part of what he called “Project 222,” a plan built around running under 223 seconds. El Guerrouj set the previous record when Kerr was one year old.
Kerr said afterward that the build-up had been “very overwhelming” because of the attention around the attempt. “I nearly lost it there at the end, but I got over the line,” he said, according to AFP and Reuters.
The 2023 world 1,500-metre champion had said in March that he would go after El Guerrouj’s record. AFP and Reuters reported that his preparation included 222-second ice-bath recoveries and training from his high-altitude base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Kerr was led through the race by pacers Brannon Kidder, his training partner, and Slovenia’s Zan Rudolph. Yared Nuguse, the Olympic bronze medallist and North American mile record holder, stayed close until the final 200 metres before Kerr pulled clear.
Kerr said the final stage of the race was difficult to hear over the crowd. “I was deaf in the last 110 metres,” he said.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe presented Kerr with a $50,000 cheque and a book on winning milers. Coe is part of Britain’s mile-running history, which also includes Roger Bannister, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram.
Other results in London
Keely Hodgkinson won her first outdoor race of the season, taking the women’s 800 metres in 1:56.21. In the men’s 800, American Brandon Miller won in a personal best of 1:42.19, while Kenya’s Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi finished fourth after fading in the race.
Armand Duplantis withdrew from the men’s pole vault after receiving strapping on his left thigh. AFP and Reuters reported that the two-time Olympic champion had failed once at 5.85 metres, cleared 5.95 metres, and then stopped with the European Championships due next month. Sam Kendricks of the United States won the event.
Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred won the women’s 200 metres in 21.66 seconds, beating American Gabby Thomas by 0.15 seconds. Kanyinsola Ajayi won the men’s 100 metres ahead of Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, matching his Nigerian national record of 9.84 seconds.
Karsten Warholm ran 46.61 seconds in the 400-metre hurdles, the fastest time in the event this year, with Alison dos Santos absent. Rai Benjamin, better known for the 400-metre hurdles, won the flat 400 metres in a personal best of 44.05.
Ja’kobe Tharp, 20, won the 110-metre hurdles in 12.89 seconds. In the women’s high jump, Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers cleared 2.01 metres to beat Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh.
In the women’s discus, American Cierra Jackson improved her personal best by nearly four metres with her last throw. AFP and Reuters reported that her 71.72-metre mark set a Diamond League record and put her ahead of double Olympic champion Valarie Sion.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.