LONDON (18 July) — Josh Kerr ran 3:42.68 Saturday at London Stadium to break the world mile record that had stood since 1999 — smashing Hicham El Guerrouj’s mark by 0.45 seconds in front of 60,000 fans.
The 28-year-old Scot had announced in March he was going after the record, calling it Project 222 — a reference to his target time of 222 seconds. He hit it, becoming the sixth British athlete in history to hold the world mile record.
El Guerrouj set his mark in 1999, the same year Kerr was born. The Moroccan’s record had survived for 27 years until Saturday night.
“It is very overwhelming,” said Kerr during his post-race interview. “There was a lot of hype. I am surrounded by amazing people, so I have continued to put the work in. I knew I had a 3:42 in me. I nearly lost it there at the end, but I got over the line.”
Kerr, the 2023 world 1,500m champion, shaved nearly three seconds off his own personal best. He also took home a $50,000 bonus check for breaking the record.
The run was part of a deliberate buildup. Kerr built his training regime around the 222-second goal — including 222-second recovery ice baths.
“Today is a result of all that hard work,” he noted. “I am lucky to be able to string the training together. It felt like I had a kitchen full of incredible chefs, and they are like, what the heck are we going to make, and this is the dish I want to make, so lets go to work and get the world record. The last lap was incredible. I was deaf in the last 110 metres.”
American Yared Nuguse finished behind Kerr and spoke afterward. “That race was an amazing race to be apart of,” Nuguse said. “What Josh did was so impressive. For that last 300m, he pulled away. I gave it my all but I could not maintain the contact.”
The record also set a new Diamond League record and meet record at the London event.
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