Josh Kerr breaks 27-year-old mile world record

Josh Kerr broke one of track’s longest-standing world records Saturday, running the mile in 3 minutes, 42.66 seconds at a Diamond League meet in London and becoming the first man to lower the mark since 1999.

The 28-year-old British runner from Edinburgh beat the previous record of 3:43.13, set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome, by nearly half a second. Kerr finished more than three seconds ahead of American Yared Nuguse, who was second in 3:45.69. Britain’s Jake Heyward finished third, NPR reported.

Kerr celebrated with a lap of honor at London Stadium after completing a goal he had publicly announced in late March. His previous best was 3:45.34, set in 2024.

“It was just me, my shoes and the track,” Kerr said. “I was absolutely deaf in that last 110 meters.”

Speaking to BBC Sport after the race, Kerr said the support from the London crowd as he closed in on the record was “just incredible.”

“I didn’t take my foot off the gas,” he said, “but… I started to glide and I was like ‘oh wow this feels incredible.’ It’s incredible because I’m slowing down. So, I was like ‘I better get to the line.’ So, crossing the finish line, seeing 42-something — anything — was my goal, so it was great.”

Kerr also told BBC Sport the buildup had been difficult to manage after he declared his intention to chase the record months in advance.

“It’s very overwhelming with the amount of hype,” he said. “It’s silly to call your shot that early, obviously a lot of things can go wrong. But I’m surrounded by amazing people, and I was able to just stay consistent, put the work in.”

Kerr and his sponsor, Brooks Running, called the attempt “Project 222,” a reference to the number of seconds he needed to run at or under to break the record. His coach, Danny Mackey, said in an Instagram video before the race that, unlike Kerr’s other competitions, the project was centered on a specific time.

“That can change the math a little bit — but we generally know what he needs to run on July 18th,” Mackey said, referring to the possibility that another runner could break the record before Kerr’s attempt.

Kerr trained at altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and documented the buildup in YouTube videos. NPR reported that Brooks made him custom spikes and a speed suit, and that two training partners helped keep him on pace during the record run.

The mile is contested less often than the 1,500 meters at major events, but it holds a prominent place in track history. Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run under four minutes in 1954. Kerr said before the attempt that he had studied the history of the record and the six previous British men who had held it.

“I would be the seventh, and to do it on British soil,” he told FloTrack when he announced the bid.

Kerr is the 2023 world champion and the 2024 Olympic silver medalist in the 1,500 meters. In the buildup to the Paris Olympics, he and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the 2021 Olympic champion, fueled attention around the event through exchanges online and on the track. At the Paris Games, American Cole Hocker won in an upset, Kerr took silver and Ingebrigtsen finished fourth.

With no Olympics or world championships on this year’s schedule, Kerr made the mile his main target. On Saturday in London, he hit it.