Josh Kerr broke the 27-year-old world mile record at the London Diamond League, shaving nearly three seconds off his personal best in the process.
The 28-year-old Briton was cheered by a capacity crowd of 60,000 at the London Stadium on Saturday, clocking a time of 3 minutes 42.66 seconds, beating Hisham El Guerrouj’s long-standing record by 0.47 seconds.
As part of Project 222, Kerr was aiming to run the race in under 223 seconds, and Saturday’s run made him the sixth Briton to hold the mile record. El Guerrouj set the world record in 1999, when Kerr was just one year old.
Kerr said the race was “very overwhelming. There was a lot of hype.”
“I was surrounded by great people and was able to stay consistent and put in the work, and I knew I had three hours and 42 minutes left,” he said.
“I almost lost at the end, but I got over the line.”
The 2023 World Athletics 1,500m champion said in March that he would aim to beat the Moroccan record by incorporating a 222-second ice bath recovery into his training.
“We’re lucky to be able to continue training together,” Kerr said from his home in the highlands of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“I felt like I had a bunch of great chefs in the kitchen, and they were like, ‘What the hell are we going to make?'” This is the food I want to make, so let’s go for the world record. ”
Kerr, a two-time world indoor 3,000m champion, was paced to perfection by training partners Brannon Kidder and Slovenian Zan Rudolf.
Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nguse, the North American record holder and No. 4 all-time mile leader, held onto Kerr until the final 200 meters (656 feet).
“Incredible” final lap
The Scot then lit up the afterburners in front of a capacity crowd of nearly 60,000 in a raucous stadium built for the 2012 London Olympics.
He roared into the ranks, punching the air in ecstasy as the jubilant crowd stood up to give their new hero a deafening welcome.
“The last lap was incredible,” Kerr said. “I went deaf in the last 110 meters (360 feet)!”
Before El Guerrouj established himself as a world record holder, British milers were the gold standard on the circuit.
Roger Bannister was the first person to run a mile in less than four minutes in 1954.
Then came middle-distance legends Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram, who dominated the event from 1979 to 1993.
“If I want to leave my mark on this sport as a British legend, with the legends behind me and following in their footsteps, I have to perform like that,” Kerr said.
“These performances take every inch of you and your team and for me the amount of work behind the scenes is incredible.
“I was able to show my performance today. I was hoping I could be a little faster!”
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe was also in attendance and presented Kerr with a check for $50,000 and a book on winning milers.
Duplantis out due to injury
Britain’s Keeley Hodgkinson won the women’s 800m in her first outdoor race of the season in 1:56.21.
Brandon Miller of the United States won the men’s 800 meters by surprise in a personal best time of 1:42.19, with Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya returning to fourth place.
After setting a new 1,000m record in Monaco a week ago, the Kenyan was aiming for the 800m world record set by David Rudisha at the same venue at the 2012 Olympics, but he faltered significantly and narrowly lost to 24-year-old Miller.
Armand Duplantis was forced to withdraw from the men’s pole vault at the London Diamond League on Saturday.
Duplantis, a two-time Olympic champion, suffered his first failure at 5.85m, but after clearing 5.95m he had a strap wrapped around his left thigh. After that, he chose to withdraw from the European Championship next month.
In his absence, American Sam Kendricks took first place.
In the women’s 200m, Saint Lucia’s Julian Alfred capitalized on a strong start to win in 21.66 seconds, edging out American Gabby Thomas, who was denied a double sprint title at the Paris Olympics, by 0.15 seconds.
In the men’s 100m, Kanyinsola Ajayi beat world champion Oblique Sevilla of Jamaica to take second place, equaling his own Nigerian national record of 9.84 seconds.
World record holder Karsten Warholm dominated the field in Alison dos Santos’ absence, setting this year’s fastest 400m hurdles time of 46.61 seconds.
American 400m hurdles specialist Ry Benjamin won the men’s 400m breaststroke in a personal best time of 44.05 seconds, while 20-year-old Jacoby Tharp, who set the world record last month, won the 110m hurdles in 12.89 seconds.
In the women’s high jump, Australia’s Nikola Olislegers beat Ukraine’s Yaroslava Makhuchik by 2.01 meters, eclipsing the world lead by 2.01 meters.
The women’s discus throw was shocking, with Sierra Jackson of the United States breaking her personal best by nearly 4 meters (13 feet) with her final throw, setting a Diamond League record of 71.72 meters, and finishing ahead of two-time Olympic champion Valarie Sion.
