Posted on 07/18/2026 4:34:32 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
There’s a new world record in the world of running.
At the Diamond League meet in London on Saturday, Scottish runner Josh Kerr posted a blazing 3:42.66 mile to break a 27-year men’s record.
Hicham El Guerrouj previously ran a 3:43.13 in 1999, but Kerr, 28, has now become a world record holder.
Kerr said in March that he was aiming to break the record, and he did just that in front of 60,000 fans at London Stadium.
“It’s very overwhelming with the amount of hype [I created],” he told BBC Sport. “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.
“If I am to leave my mark on this sport as a British legend, following in the footsteps of the legends behind me, I have to put in those performances.
“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!”
Kerr is now the seventh Brit to become a record holder in the mile, with Steve Cram last achieving the feat in 1985.
The runner, who specializes in the 1500m, has taken home two Olympic medals, having won a silver in Paris and a bronze in Tokyo.
He also won the world championship in the same distance in 2023.
Without the World Championships or the Olympics scheduled for this year, Kerr put his focus on setting the mile record.
It felt like I had a kitchen full of amazing incredible chefs and I was like, ‘What the hell are we going to,,,
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Roger Bannister is smiling.
I’m so old that the Four Minute Mile was the Holy Grail when I was a kid. I was born in 1951, so I was actually too young to remember, but I do remember that being the goal for serious runners in the 50s and early 60s.
Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile on May 6, 1954, running 3:59.4 at Iffley Road track in Oxford, England.
That’s really fast
"Team"? "Behind the scenes"? Don't you just put on your gym shorts, tie up your shoes and hit the pavement?
Averaged 100 yards every 13.92 seconds
That record may never be broken.
If not, it is really close.
Athletes at the world record level have a team of doctors, nutritionists, trainers, chefs, physical therapists, etc, etc.
Everything must be maximized to gain any possible edge
“That’s really fast”
That it is. Congratulations Scottish runner Josh Kerr.
I give the man credit for sharing the credit, even though he is the one who actually did. it.
... only to have to wait in line at the Walmart check out counter.
I don’t think I could do that on a bicycle.
I wonder what 3:42:66 is in MPH? Any math whizzes out there?
16.168 mph
Sheesh, just leave a little earlier and ya don’t have to rush
Still not fast enough to outrun a bull alligator, but FAST.
Hell, black guys running from cops beat that all the time.
Supposedly it was a LIFE magazine interview, but Neil Armstrong was asked about the physical training for being an Apollo astronaut. He said “I believe we only have a finite number of heartbeats, I’m not going to waste any of mine running around the block”. Naturally, NASA soon made him “clarify” his comments and he extolled the many virtues of regular exercise.
15.93 mph.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.