Great Britain’s Josh Kerr shattered the 27-year-old world record for the fastest mile with a spectacular performance at the London Stadium on Saturday.
The 28-year-old, roared on by a 60,000-strong crowd at the London Diamond League meeting, ran a time of three minutes 42.66 seconds (222.66 seconds) to break Hicham El Guerrouj’s long-standing mark by nearly half a second.
He had targeted a 222-second race, and he pulled it off to become the fastest British athlete in history to hold the record for the distance.
El Guerrouj set his world record of three minutes 43.13 seconds in 1999 when British record holder Kerr was only a year old.
Kerr, the 2023 world 1500m champion, announced in March that his intention was to break the Moroccan’s record on home soil, and he framed a training regime which included 222-second-long recovery ice baths to help make it a reality.
‘It’s very overwhelming with the amount of hype [I created].
‘It’s silly to call [the attempt] that early because there’s a lot of things which can go wrong, but I am surrounded by amazing people and was able to stay consistent and put the work in,’ Kerr told BBC Sport.
‘If I am to leave my mark on this sport as a British legend, following in the footsteps of the legends behind me, I have to put in those performances.
Josh Kerr became the world record holder for the fastest one mile on Saturday
Kerr celebrates after he shattered the 27-year-old world mile record in Stratford
‘Those performances take every single part of you, every single part of your team.
‘The amount of work behind the scenes is incredible. Today, it was a performance I was able to bring out – I just hoped it would be a little bit faster!’
Kerr, who was presented with a £38,000 cheque for breaking the record, shaved almost three seconds off his own personal best.
The record had been untouched since 1999.
Reacting to the record-breaking performance, the former record holder for the mile Sir Sebastian Coe described it as done in ‘the most fantastic way’.
He said: ‘I’m trying hard to find language that’s not going to get me in trouble before the watershed! But it was unbelievable.
‘I mean, he set out the target of breaking the world record – he did it. And he did it in front of 60,000 people.
‘He was foot-perfect and he brought the kind of mental resilience to that competition, to that race, that I’ve rarely seen in any competition. And it’s [the world record] back in the hands of a Brit again!’
Kerr had a targeted 222-second race and pulled it off to become the sixth British athlete in history to hold the record for the distance
Kerr victorious after winning the one mile men’s final and setting a new world record
The Scotsman had the crowd on their feet as he pulled off the daring world record challenge
He continued: ‘He is superbly well-trained, mahogany-hard mentally, and he set out his store… I’m almost speechless.’
He was joined on the start line today by American Yared Nuguse, fourth on the all-time list and a fierce opponent to the Olympic silver medallist’s challenge.
Nonetheless, the Scotsman came through victorious. He started off with two pacemakers, who both left by the 1,000-metre mark.
His first 1,500m were faster than his British record for that distance and he did not stop there – continuing to the finish line with an emotional finish.
He lifted his arms in elation as he crossed the finish line, punching the air as the crowd got to their feet.
The sportsman told journalists after the race: ‘It felt like I had a kitchen full of amazing incredible chefs and I was like, ‘what the hell are we going to make?’ – and I was like, ‘this is the dish I want to make, let’s get to work!’
‘That’s what it felt like. There was no point in going through this year thinking it was an off year, and we can wait until next year.
‘It’s about doubling down, building a performance to bring British athletics back to the mile to this stadium.’
Kerr was presented with a £38,000 cheque for breaking the record
The first person to run a sub-four-minute-mile was Roger Bannister (pictured) in Oxford in 1954
Josh Kerr has always made his daring ambitions known, having announced he would be aiming to smash the mile world record in London four months before this historic run.
It’s a strong comeback for the athlete, who saw his gold medal dreams shattered at the World Championships in Tokyo last September when he suffered a calf injury.
His coach, Danny Mackey, confirmed the Brit had set his sights on the record months ago, and the pair had worked relentlessly since to make it happen today.
Kerr even documented the training building up to Saturday’s world-record attempt.
The endeavour was titled ‘Project 222’ – the total number of seconds standing between him and the world record.
The documentary culminated in a 1,200m time trial which predicted he would be in good enough shape to achieve the world record, as Kerr clocked two minutes 42.45 seconds, leaving him with more than one minute to cover the remaining 400m.
Kerr was kitted in specially designed spikes and a ‘bespoke speed suit’ by his sponsors Brooks in London for the world record attempt.
He wore an all-in-one which had laser-cut perforations to improve breathability in the July heat and enhance his aerodynamics.
The spikes were also customised to maximise Kerr’s biomechanics, featuring a carbon plate and aggressive rocker for propulsion, and titanium pins to keep the shoe lightweight.
Kerr clocked an impressive set of 13.7 seconds for each of the final three 100m splits after passing the 1,200m mark at two minutes 46.5 seconds on Saturday.
The athlete has become one of the biggest names in athletics over the past five years, known for his confident and bold challenges to other prominent athletes – including Norway’s middle-distance star Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Kerr has made the Olympic podium twice before and won three world titles. In one of his most nail-biting races to watch, he beat Ingebrigtsen in 2023 when he won the 1500m in Budapest.
Kerr will next compete in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next month, where he will seek to replicate his success today and stay on top.
The first man to break the four-minute-mile benchmark was Sir Roger Bannister in Oxford in 1954, who ran the mile in three minutes and 59.4 seconds.
