A 27-year-old world record fell Saturday in London when Great Britain’s Josh Kerr ran the mile in 3:42.66, breaking Hicham El Guerrouj’s previous mark of 3:43.13 set in 1999.
Kerr made no secret that he was targeting the long-standing record at Saturday’s Diamond League event in London. Earlier this week, he revealed he ran 2:42.45 in a 1,200-meter time trial. His sponsor, Brooks, dubbed the effort “Project 222,” referencing the number of seconds in 3 minutes, 42 seconds.
“This is the moment Josh Kerr stands to make history and bring the mile record home,” the shoe company said Friday.
Kerr has emerged as one of the world’s top middle-distance runners, winning bronze in the 1,500 meters at the Tokyo Olympics and silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Before turning professional, Kerr starred at the University of New Mexico, where he won multiple NCAA titles. He also set an NCAA indoor mile record of 3:35.01 in 2018.
There have been other high-profile attempts to break major distance records, though some were not recognized officially because they were held outside sanctioned competition.
Kenyan marathon star Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in under 2 hours in 2019, but the performance was not eligible for world-record status because it was not conducted under standard race conditions.
Kenyan runner Faith Kipyegon also attempted to become the first woman to run a sub-4-minute mile, though she fell short. Still, her time of 4:06.42 would have broken the women’s world record had it been set during an official competition.
Kerr’s record-setting run came during the Diamond League, an established international circuit of professional track and field events. American Yared Nuguse finished second in 3:45.69.
