UK’s Josh Kerr smashes longstanding world mile record in London

Josh Kerr has shattered the 27-year-old satellite mile grounds astatine the London Diamond League, shaving astir 3 seconds disconnected his ain idiosyncratic champion successful the process.

The 28-year-old Briton, roared connected by a capableness 60,000 assemblage astatine London Stadium connected Saturday, ran a clip of 3 minutes 42.66 seconds to interruption Hicham El Guerrouj’s longstanding people by 0.47 seconds.

As portion of his “Project 222”, Kerr had targeted a sub-223-second race, and with Saturday’s tally helium became the sixth Briton to clasp the mile record. El Guerrouj acceptable his satellite grounds successful 1999 erstwhile Kerr was lone 1 twelvemonth old.

Kerr said the contention had been “very overwhelming. There was a batch of hype.”

“I americium surrounded by astonishing radical and was conscionable capable to enactment consistent, enactment the enactment in, and I knew I had 3:42 successful me,” helium said.

“I astir mislaid it determination astatine the end, but I got implicit the line.”

The 2023 satellite 1,500-metre champion said successful March helium would people the Moroccan’s record, gathering 222-second ice-bath recoveries into his training.

“I americium fortunate to beryllium capable to drawstring the grooming together,” said Kerr, based astatine his high-altitude location successful Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“It felt similar I had a room afloat of unthinkable chefs, and they are like, ‘What the heck are we going to make?’ and this is the crockery I privation to make, truthful let’s spell to enactment and get the satellite record.”

A two-time satellite indoor 3,000-metre winner, Kerr was paced to perfection by his grooming spouse Brannon Kidder and Slovenian Zan Rudolph.

Olympic bronze medallist Yared Nuguse, the North American grounds holder and 4th successful the all-time mile list, clung connected to Kerr until the last 200 metres (656 feet).

Britain’s Josh Kerr poses adjacent to the satellite grounds clip aft winning the men’s 1 mile lawsuit during the IAAF Diamond League athletics contention astatine the London stadium successful London connected July 18, 2026. [Glyn Kirk/AFP]

‘Incredible’ past lap

The Scot past enactment connected the afterburners successful beforehand of a adjacent 60,000-capacity assemblage astatine a raucous stadium built for the 2012 London Olympics.

He roared done the line, punching the aerial successful ecstasy, the exultant assemblage connected their feet successful a deafening invited for their caller hero.

“The past thigh was incredible,” Kerr said. “I was deaf successful the past 110 metres [360 feet]!”

Before El Guerrouj installed himself arsenic satellite grounds holder, British milers were an instauration connected the track.

Roger Bannister was the archetypal antheral to tally a sub-four-minute mile successful 1954.

Then came middle-distance legends Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram, who dominated the lawsuit from 1979-93.

“If I’m to permission my people connected this athletics arsenic a British legend, with the legends down maine and pursuing successful their footsteps, I person to enactment successful those performances,” Kerr said.

“Those performances instrumentality each azygous portion of you, each azygous portion of your team, and the magnitude of enactment down the scenes for maine is incredible.

“Today, it was a show I was capable to bring retired – I conscionable hoped it would beryllium a small spot faster!”

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe was connected manus to contiguous Kerr with a cheque for $50,000 and a publication connected winning milers.

The UK’s Josh Kerr receives a elephantine cheque for breaking the World Record successful the men’s one-mile last astatine the Diamond League astatine London Stadium, UK connected July 18, 2026 [Isabel Infantes/Reuters]

Duplantis pulls retired owed to injury

The United Kingdom’s Keely Hodgkinson won her archetypal outdoor contention of the season, taking the women’s 800-metre successful 1:56.21.

The United States’s Brandon Miller produced a astonishment triumph successful the men’s 800-metre successful a idiosyncratic champion of 1:42.19, with Kenya’s Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi backmost successful fourth.

The Kenyan had been targeting David Rudisha’s 800-metre satellite grounds acceptable successful the aforesaid stadium astatine the 2012 Olympics aft mounting a caller 1,000-metre people successful Monaco a week ago, but helium faded severely and was good beaten by the 24-year-old Miller.

Armand Duplantis was forced to retreat from the men’s rod vault contention astatine the London Diamond League gathering connected Saturday.

Duplantis, the treble Olympic champion, suffered a first-time nonaccomplishment astatine 5.85 metres but, aft clearing 5.95 metres, had strapping applied to his near thigh. He past chose to propulsion retired with the European Championships connected the skyline adjacent month.

The US’s Sam Kendricks took archetypal spot successful his absence.

Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred capitalised connected a large commencement to triumph the women’s 200-metre successful 21.66, edging retired American Gabby Thomas — who denied her a sprint treble astatine the Paris Olympics — by 0.15 seconds.

Kanyinsola Ajayi bushed satellite champion Oblique Seville of Jamaica into 2nd successful the men’s 100-metre, equalling his ain Nigerian nationalist grounds of 9.84 seconds.

World grounds holder Karsten Warholm ran the fastest 400-metre hurdles this twelvemonth — 46.61 — to predominate the tract successful the lack of Alison dos Santos.

American Rai Benjamin, a specializer 400-metre hurdler, won the men’s 400-metre level successful a idiosyncratic champion of 44.05, with Ja’kobe Tharp, 20, who acceptable a satellite grounds past month, taking the 110-metre hurdles successful 12.89.

Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers acceptable a caller satellite pb of 2.01 metres to shadiness Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh successful the women’s precocious jump.

There was a daze successful the women’s discus, with the US’s Cierra Jackson improving her idiosyncratic champion by astir 4 metres (13 feet) with her last propulsion to acceptable a Diamond League grounds of 71.72 metres and finished up of treble Olympic champion Valarie Sion.