Scottish runner Josh Kerr has set a new world record for the fastest mile, clocking in at 3:42.66 at the Diamond League meet in London on Saturday. This performance broke the previous 27-year-old record of 3:43.13, set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999.
Kerr, 28, had expressed his ambition to break the record in March and achieved the feat in front of an estimated 60,000 spectators at London Stadium. He told BBC Sport that the hype surrounding his attempt was significant, but he credited his success to the consistent work put in by himself and his team.
"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," Kerr stated. "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!"
With this record, Kerr becomes the seventh British runner to hold the mile record, following in the lineage of athletes like Steve Cram, who last achieved the feat for Britain in 1985. Kerr, primarily a 1500m specialist, has previously won two Olympic medals: a silver in Paris and a bronze in Tokyo. He also secured the world championship title in the 1500m in 2023.
This year, without major championships like the World Championships or the Olympics scheduled, Kerr shifted his focus to setting the mile world record. He described the process of preparing for the record attempt as akin to a kitchen full of chefs collaborating on a dish, emphasizing the collaborative effort involved in his training and preparation.
"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," Kerr added.