The Sports Guru
In March, Josh Kerr told the world he would break a 27-year-old world record on home soil. On Saturday at London Stadium, in front of 60,000 people, he did exactly that. The mile belongs to a Briton again for the first time since 1985, and it was not even close.
Josh Kerr broke the men's mile world record at the London Diamond League on Saturday, crossing the line in three minutes 42.66 seconds to beat Hicham El Guerrouj's mark by nearly half a second. The Moroccan's record had stood since 1999, when Kerr was one year old. It took the 28-year-old Scot less than four minutes to retire it.
Project 222, delivered on schedule
Great sporting promises usually come with an escape hatch. Kerr built his without one. He announced the attempt four months in advance, named his preparation 'Project 222' after the total number of seconds standing between him and history, and documented the build-up in public, which is a bold way to arrange things when a calf injury had ended his bid for gold at the World Championships in Tokyo last September. His coach, Danny Mackey, confirmed the record had been the target ever since that comeback began.
The rehearsal numbers suggested the promise was sound. A 1,200m time trial in Albuquerque, run more than 5,000 feet above sea level, came in at 2:42.45, albeit with a running start. London would offer no altitude to fight. His sponsors Brooks kitted him out in a bespoke speed suit with laser-cut perforations for the warm temperatures, and spikes built around a carbon plate, an aggressive rocker and titanium pins. The kitchen was fully staffed. "It felt like I had a kitchen full of amazing incredible chefs," the Edinburgh-born Kerr said afterwards. "This is the dish I want to make, let's get to work!"
Only ever going to be Kerr
The field included Yared Nuguse, the American who sits fourth on the all-time mile list and arrived as a genuine threat to Kerr, himself the sixth-fastest miler in history with a British record of 3:45.34. The race never became a contest. Two pacemakers did their work and were gone by the 1,000m mark, leaving the Scot alone with the wavelights on the kerb measuring his progress against history.
He passed 1,200m in 2:46.5 and went through 1500m faster than his own British record for that distance, then held 13.7 seconds for each of the final three 100m splits, the sell-out crowd on its feet for all of them. That flat trio of closing splits is the detail worth keeping: world records usually leak time at the end, and this one did not. The five-time global medallist raised his arms aloft in celebration, the emotion doing what the clock could not.
"It's very overwhelming with the amount of hype [I created]. 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 told BBC Sport. "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!"
Back in British hands
The mile is not contested at the Olympics or World Championships, and it does not need to be. It is the distance the whole world measures running by, the event Sir Roger Bannister dragged under four minutes in Oxford in 1954 when the barrier was considered impossible. Bannister held the record for just 46 days. Derek Ibbotson reclaimed it for Britain in 1957, and Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram kept the world's best time in British hands from July 1979 to September 1993, before Algeria's Noureddine Morceli and then El Guerrouj carried it away for three decades.
Kerr is now the seventh British athlete to hold the mile record and the first since Cram in 1985, and the man he succeeded in that lineage welcomed him at once. "Josh is a world champion, he's won gold medals, run records but the world mile record perhaps surpasses everything," Cram said on BBC Sport. "To join that list of great names, I know when I did it, I so wanted to be in that club of world mile record holders. Welcome to the club, Josh!"
Kerr chose this season for the attempt because it is the first in six years without a major global championship at its end, an off year he refused to treat as one. The two-time Olympic podium finisher and three-time world champion, whose 1500m win in Budapest in 2023 lit the rivalry with the injured Jakob Ingebrigtsen, now heads to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next month. The record took 27 years to move. The celebrations in Scotland may take slightly longer to finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kerr ran three minutes 42.66 seconds at the London Diamond League at London Stadium, beating Hicham El Guerrouj's previous world record by nearly half a second. The Moroccan's mark had stood since 1999, making it a 27-year-old record, and Kerr arrived with a previous personal best of 3:45.34, which was itself the British record and the sixth-fastest mile in history.
Steve Cram was the last Briton to hold it, in 1985, and Kerr is the seventh British athlete to claim the record. Britain has deep history in the event: Sir Roger Bannister broke the four-minute barrier in Oxford in 1954, Derek Ibbotson reclaimed the record in 1957, and Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Cram kept it in British hands from July 1979 to September 1993.
Project 222 was the name Kerr gave his publicly documented preparation, a reference to the total number of seconds standing between him and history. Announced four months before the race, it included a 1,200m time trial in Albuquerque run in 2:42.45 at altitude, plus a bespoke Brooks speed suit and spikes featuring a carbon plate and titanium pins for the attempt itself.
Kerr will target the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next month, a home Games for the Edinburgh-born athlete. He picked this season for the record attempt because it is the first in six years without a major global championship at its end, and his coach Danny Mackey confirmed the mile record had been the goal since Kerr returned from the calf injury that ended his World Championships in Tokyo last September.
Sources: BBC Sport.
