Josh Kerr breaks mile world record with 3:42.66 at London Diamond League

LONDON — Britain's Josh Kerr broke the men's mile world record with a run of 3:42.66 at the London Diamond League on Saturday, according to World Athletics, the sport's governing body. The time eclipsed the 3:43.13 set by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome in 1999, a mark that had stood for 27 years.

Kerr, an Olympic 1500m champion, produced the record at the Novuna London Athletics Meet, the latest leg of the Wanda Diamond League, before a home crowd at the capital's stadium. The result was confirmed within minutes by broadcasters and track-and-field outlets, including the BBC and Olympics.com, which described the Scot as "not scared of failure" in the build-up to his attempt.

The previous mile best had been widely considered one of athletics' most durable records. El Guerrouj's 3:43.13 survived challenges from several generations of middle-distance runners before Kerr's breakthrough.

## How Josh Kerr's mile world record compares to the old mark

Kerr's 3:42.66 is 0.47 seconds faster than El Guerrouj's 1999 run, the first sub-3:43 mile in history. The Briton's time is the headline result of a London meet that also featured Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson.

The achievement strengthens British middle-distance form ahead of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where Kerr has said he intends to compete.

**Global perspective:** The fall of a 27-year-old pinnacle underscores a broader wave of resets across distance events in 2026, following a sub-two-hour marathon mark earlier this year.

**Sources** - https://worldathletics.org - https://sourcereporters.com/sport/ - https://sourcereporters.com/sport/athletics/

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