Josh Kerr has broken the men’s one mile world record with a staggering run at the Diamond League at the London Stadium.
The Briton, 28, bettered Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj’s 27-year-old time (3:43.13) from 1999 by coming home in an astonishing 3:42.66.
The 2023 world 1,500m champion delivered on his word, having announced his intent to rewrite the history books in March, capitalising on a year without an Olympics or World Championships in 2027.
In breaking the record, Kerr beat out competition from the USA’s Olympic medalist Yared Nuguse to win the race outright, with compatriot Jake Heyward third and Germany’s Robert Farken fourth.
Kerr’s 1,500m split also confirmed a new British 1,500m record, topping his previous mark (3:27.79) by almost three hundredths of a second in 3:27.51.
And his one mile record was in the balance with 400m remaining, with the clock at 2:46.39 and requiring a sub-57 final lap to create history.
open image in gallery
open image in gallery
open image in galleryBut Kerr stormed home, moving away from a gritty Nuguse and the wave lights on the bend before erupting in joy to the delight of the London Stadium crowd, which included the legendary Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics and a former one mile world record holder, who was seen applauding.g
The build-up to the attempt has surrounded a buzz from Kerr’s YouTube series, in which he documented all of his training for the race.
It culminated in a 1,200m time trial, which was completed in a remarkable 2:42.45, to prove his fitness was on track to break El Guerrouj’s world record.
Kerr will now reset, focusing on recovery before a mouthwatering one mile race in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with compatriot Jake Wightman and Australian sensation Cameron Myers competing for the gold.
The meet had been set up as a joint-world record attempt from Great Britain’s two biggest track stars with Keely Hodgkinson also targeting a women’s 800m outdoor world record. The Olympic champion ran 1:56.21 to win her race, but after a stumble a few weeks ago, the world record attempt was pushed back and the 24-year-old was forced to settle for victory outright ahead of Dutch superstar Femke Broeders-Bol.