Britain's Josh Kerr breaks men's mile world record after 26 years

Josh Kerr ran 3:42.66 at the London Diamond League’s Novuna London Athletics Meet to break the men’s mile world record, cutting 0.47 seconds from Hicham El Guerrouj’s 3:43.13 set in Rome on July 7, 1999. The British runner had set his sights on 3:42 flat as part of “Project 222,” and delivered a mark that finally toppled one of track and field’s most durable benchmarks.

The mile matters because it sits between raw speed and endurance, and because the event still carries a weight far beyond the oval. Before Kerr’s run, only three men had ever gone under 3:45 in the mile over the previous 27 years: El Guerrouj, Jakob Ingebrigtsen with 3:43.73 in 2023, and Yared Nuguse with 3:43.97 in 2023. That scarcity is what made El Guerrouj’s record feel immovable and Kerr’s finish so rare.

Kerr did not hide the ambition before the race. He said there was “no reason to be quiet” about the attempt and that he felt “very ready” for it. That confidence mattered because a world-record mile is rarely a matter of form alone; it usually demands exact pacing, a controlled middle section and the closing speed to hold that rhythm all the way to the line. Kerr’s campaign was built as a deliberate chase, not a spontaneous shot at history.

The performance also sharpens the picture of Britain’s middle-distance strength. BBC Sport had noted that Keely Hodgkinson and Kerr were both attempting world records at the same London Stadium meeting, giving home fans a rare double shot at history on one card. Kerr’s breakthrough adds a defining line to an already elite résumé and gives British athletics another headline result as the sport heads into the next stretch of major championships.

The old record’s survival from 1999 to now is what gives the new one its force. El Guerrouj’s time had outlasted multiple generations of contenders, and Kerr lowered it by less than half a second, which is exactly how narrow the margins remain at the top of the event. For a mile record to fall after so long, the athlete had to arrive with the right form, the right pace and the right field around him. Kerr did all three in London.