LONDON (AP) 鈥� British runner Josh Kerr ran 3 minutes, 42.66 seconds to break the longstanding men鈥檚 mile world record at a Diamond League meet in London on Saturday.
Kerr broke Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj鈥檚 mark of 3 minutes, 43.13 seconds, set in Rome in 1999, and the Edinburgh native then set off on a lap of honor at London Stadium.
on Saturday that he finished just over three seconds clear of American Yared Nuguse in 3:45.69.
The crowd support as he closed in on the record was 鈥渏ust incredible,鈥� Kerr told the BBC.
鈥淚t was just me, my shoes and the track,” he said. 鈥淚 was absolutely deaf in that last 110 meters.
鈥淚 didn’t take my foot off the gas,” he continued, 鈥渂ut … I started to glide and I was like 鈥榦h wow this feels incredible.鈥� It’s incredible because I’m slowing down. So, I was like 鈥業 better get to the line.鈥� So, crossing the finish line, seeing 42-something 鈥� anything 鈥� was my goal, so it was great.鈥�
The 28-year-old Kerr鈥檚 previous best time was 3:45.34 in 2024.
He had targeted the mile race at the Diamond League meet as a main goal in a track season with neither Olympics nor world championships.
The mile is not a championships event yet has iconic status in track history, with the four-minute barrier broken in 1954 by another
Kerr was a silver medalist .
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