Josh Kerr Shatters 27-Year-Old Mile World Record in London
British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years
I shattered the 27-year-old mile world record at the London Stadium, shaving half a second off Hicham El Guerrouj's 1999 mark. Running in a Brooks suit, I crossed the line in 3 minutes 42.66 seconds, fulfilling my 'Project 222' goal and returning the record to British hands for the first time since Roger Bannister.
His win means the mile record is back in British hands after Roger Bannister famously became the first person to run under four minutes in 1954.
- js2
Watch him do it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYi2f4ONEDg&t=180
What an incredible performance. I've seen a sub-4 mile in person. These guys are absolutely flying. All of them. And he beats the pants off that field.
Splits (400m):
400m: 55.3
800m: 1:51.1 (56.8 second lap)
1200m: 2:46.5 (55.4 second lap)
1600m: 3:41.4 (54.9 third lap)
Mile: 3:42.66
Splits (100m):
100m: 13.8
200m: 27.5 (13.7)
300m: 41.0 (13.5)
400m: 55.3 (14.3)
500m: 1:09.3 (14.0)
600m: 1:23.2 (13.9)
700m: 1:37.0 (13.8)
800m: 1:51.1 (14.1)
900m: 2:05.1 (14.0)
1000m: 2:18.8 (13.7)
1100m: 2:32.6 (13.8)
1200m: 2:46.5 (13.9)
1300m: 3:00.3 (13.8)
1400m: 3:14.0 (13.7)
1500m: 3:27.7 (13.7)
1600m: 3:41.4 (13.7)
Mile: 3:42.66 (1.2 for the final 9.34m)
Splits copied from https://xcancel.com/ChrisChavez/status/2078494868540637695
Official results at
https://london.diamondleague.com/programme-results/
Unfortunately you can't link directly to the 1 mile results. Scroll down to the table, select "1 Mile Men", then select "Reports", then "Race Analysis" and/or "Race Analysis Graphical". That leads to these two PDFs (not sure these links are stable):
https://ps-cache.web.swisstiming.com/node/binaryData/ATH_PRO...
https://ps-cache.web.swisstiming.com/node/binaryData/ATH_PRO...
- __turbobrew__
He had a special singlet designed and undoubtedly carbon shoes. Makes you wonder how much raw human potential has progressed vs just having better equipment and track surfaces?
- nianderwallace
Reaction from Kerr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeE4S_d1tl0
Reaction from three other runners in that race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z-MM1ArK88
More info on Kerr's typical training week from https://www.dailymail.com/sport/othersports/article-15987481... :
Monday
- Ten mile easy run
- 15 minutes of form drills, sprints over small hurdles
- Rotate between sauna and cold tub
Tuesday
- Three-mile warm up, nine to ten miles continuous run at tempo pace, three miles cool down
- Four x 120m strides
- Session in the gym, lifting weights for up to 90 minutes
Wednesday
- Easy run lasting seven to eight miles
- Rotate between sauna and cold tub
Thursday
- Ten to 11 miles at a moderate intensity
- Plyometrics and dynamic exercises
Friday
- Workout on the track
- Race-specific 1500m/mile sessions
- Session in the gym, lifting weights for up to 90 minutes
Saturday
- Rest. Spends time walking dog with his wife Larimar
Sunday
- Long run of around 16 miles including some faster tempo pick-ups
Probably in the 60-80 miles per week range.
- card_zero
The BBC headline writes it as "27-year mile world record", which works out at about one quarter inch per hour.
- davidw
What are the rules around pacers for this kind of thing? Are there separate records for with/without pacers?