Key Takeaways
- Josh Kerr broke the long-standing world mile record with a time of 3:42.66.
- The achievement marks the first British mile record since Steve Cram in 1985.
- Kerr's Project 222 aimed to break Hicham El Guerrouj’s 1999 record.
Josh Kerr, a 28-year-old British athlete, shattered the 27-year-old world mile record at London Stadium on Saturday. Running in the London Diamond League meeting, Kerr clocked an impressive time of three minutes and 42.66 seconds to break Hicham El Guerrouj’s long-standing mark by 0.47 seconds.
Kerr had set his sights on this achievement as part of Project 222, a training regimen that included rigorous ice-bath recoveries aimed at pushing him to the sub-223-second barrier. 'Going after records like that is not really anything about fitness; it’s about wrapping your mind around that time,' Kerr explained.
The event was met with a capacity crowd of 60,000 spectators who cheered on Kerr as he achieved his goal. The British athlete received a $50,000 cheque for breaking the record and expressed his joy at bringing this milestone back to the UK. 'I feel very lucky to push this forward and bring it back to the UK because I feel like that’s where the mile belongs,' he said.
In other events, Keely Hodgkinson secured her first outdoor victory of the season in the women's 800m race with a time of 1:56.21. 'The only reason I came here today was because I wanted to win for the home crowd. I’m happy to get that out of the way,' she stated.
Brandon Miller, an American athlete, surprised many by winning the men's 800m race in a personal best time of 1:42.19. Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi finished fourth, well behind Miller’s performance. The Kenyan had been targeting David Rudisha’s world record but struggled to maintain his pace.
Armand Duplantis, the double Olympic pole vault champion, withdrew from the competition due to a thigh injury sustained during warm-ups. Sam Kendricks took first place in his absence.
Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred won the women's 200m race with a time of 21.66 seconds, narrowly edging out American Gabby Thomas by 0.15 seconds. This victory came just weeks after Thomas had denied Alfred a sprint double at the Paris Olympics.
In the men's 100m final, Kanyinsola Ajayi equaled his own Nigerian national record of 9.84 seconds to finish second behind world champion Oblique Seville of Jamaica.
I feel very lucky to push this forward and bring it back to the UK because I feel like that’s where the mile belongs.
Josh Kerr, British athlete
The only reason I came here today was because I wanted to win for the home crowd. I’m happy to get that out of the way.
Keely Hodgkinson, British athlete
