Key Takeaways
- Josh Kerr shattered Hicham El Guerrouj's 27-year men’s mile world record at the London Diamond League, running 3:42.66 in front of about 60,000 fans.
- Kerr, who had publicly targeted the record months earlier, called the moment "very overwhelming" and credited his tight-knit team for staying consistent and putting in the work.
- Already a world 1500m champion and two-time Olympic medalist, the 28-year-old says the record is part of his push to cement himself as a British legend rather than treating this non-championship year as an "off year."
Josh Kerr has etched his name into track and field history with a new world record that has stood for nearly three decades.
According to ESPN, the Scottish middle-distance star set a new men's mile world record Saturday (July 18) at the Diamond League meet in London, crossing the finish line in 3:42.66.
The record was previously held by Hicham El Guerrouj, whose time of 3:43.13 had remained unbeaten since 1999. With the performance, Kerr became the first man in 27 years to lower the world record in the event.
The achievement came just months after Kerr publicly announced his intention to chase the record, accomplishing the feat in front of approximately 60,000 spectators at London Stadium.
"It's very overwhelming with the amount of hype [I created]," Kerr told BBC Sport after the race. "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 said the record was part of his broader goal of cementing his place among Britain's greatest runners.
"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," he said.
"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!"
The 28-year-old is the seventh British runner to hold the men's mile world record and the first since Steve Cram accomplished the feat in 1985.
Known primarily as a 1,500-meter specialist, Kerr has built one of the sport's most decorated résumés in recent years. He won gold in the 1,500 meters at the 2023 World Championships and has earned Olympic medals in consecutive Games, taking bronze in Tokyo before claiming silver in Paris.
With no Olympics or World Championships on this year's schedule, Kerr shifted his focus to chasing history.
"It felt like I had a kitchen full of amazing incredible chefs and I was like, 'What the hell are we going to make?'" Kerr said. "I was like, 'This is the dish I want to make, let's get to work!'"
He added: "There was no point in going through this year thinking it was an off year, and we can wait until next year."
