Josh Kerr of Britain breaks 27-year-old world record in the mile

Sports Josh Kerr of Britain breaks 27-year-old world record in the mile July 18, 20264:06 PM ET By  Huo Jingnan Josh Kerr of Team Great Britain celebrates after winning the 1 Mile Men's Final and setting a new World Record during the Novuna London Athletics Meet, part of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League, at London Stadium on July 18, 2026 in London, England. Harry Murphy/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Harry Murphy/Getty Images British runner Josh Kerr broke the world record for mile time on Saturday in London, at 3 minutes and 42.66 seconds. Kerr beat the record last set by Moroccan runner Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome in 1999, at 3 minutes and 43.13 seconds, by nearly half a second. Kerr publicly announced his bid to break the mile world record in late March, in a track season without either Olympic games or world championships. "It's very overwhelming with the amount of hype," he told BBC Sport after breaking the record. "It's silly to call your shot that early, obviously a lot of things can go wrong. But I'm surrounded by amazing people, and I was able to just stay consistent, put the work in." Sponsor Message The 28-year-old from Edinburgh holds an Olympic silver medal in the men's 1500m from the 2024 Paris Games, and is the 2023 world champion in the same distance. Kerr and his sponsor Brooks Running called the mile world record attempt "Project 222," referring to the number of seconds he needed to be at or under to break the world record. Unlike Kerr's other races, Project 222 was laser-focused on the time goal.,said Kerr's coach Danny Mackey, in an Instagram video before the race. The team watched out for whether anyone else had broken the world record before the July meet. "That can change the math a little bit -- but we generally know what he needs to run on July 18th," Mackey said. Kerr trained in the high altitude of Albuquerque, N.M., and documented his training in a series of YouTube videos. Brooks Running made him custom spikes and a speed sui...