Josh Kerr breaks 27-year-old mile world record at London Diamond League
Consensus Summary
Josh Kerr, a 28-year-old Scot and former 1500m world champion, shattered the 27-year-old one-mile world record of 3:43.13sec set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999 during the London Diamond League on July 18th, 2026. Kerr achieved a time of 3:42.66sec, fulfilling his ambitious 'Project 222' goal, which he had announced in March. The race took place in front of a sold-out crowd of 60,000 at the London Stadium, with Kerrâs meticulous preparationâincluding daily notebook entries and timed ice bathsâhighlighted by both sources. His victory marked the first British mile record in decades, with Sebastian Coe praising his performance. Meanwhile, Keely Hodgkinsonâs hopes of breaking the 800m world record faded after injuries, though she still competed in her race. ABC also reported on Australian athletes Jessica Hull and Nicola Olyslagers winning their events, with the Commonwealth Games set to begin on July 23rd in Glasgow.
â Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Josh Kerr broke the one-mile world record of 3min 43.13sec set in 1999 by Hicham El Guerrouj
- Kerr achieved a time of 3 minutes and 42 seconds (3:42.66) in the race
- The event took place at Saturdayâs London Diamond League on July 18th, 2026
- Kerr is a 28-year-old Scot and former 1500m world champion
- The race was held in front of a 60,000 crowd
- Kerrâs record attempt was part of 'Project 222', targeting a 222-second mile
- Kerrâs previous best mile time was 3:45.34, set two years ago
- Kerr is the 2023 world 1500-metre champion
- The race was held at the London Stadium
- Kerrâs ice bath sessions lasted three minutes and 42 seconds
- Keely Hodgkinson withdrew from the UK championshipsâ start line due to injury
- Hodgkinson suffered a freak knee injury a fortnight ago
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Jessica Hull won the 3000m in 8min 24.69sec
- Rose Davies finished second in the 3000m with 8:25.38
- Nicola Olyslagers won the pole vault on countback after clearing 2.01m with six failures, while Yaroslava Mahuchikh had eight failures
- Eleanor Patterson finished third in the pole vault with a 1.96m clearance
- The Australian menâs 4x100m relay finished second in 38.00sec, behind GBâs 37.95
- The Australian womenâs 4x100m relay finished second in 43.08sec, behind a British quartet
- The Commonwealth Games start on July 23rd in Glasgow
- Kerrâs 1500m split in the mile race was 3:27.62, improving his own British record
- Yared Nuguse finished more than three seconds behind Kerr in the mile race
- Kerrâs training partner, Brannon Kidder, acted as a pacemaker for the record attempt
- Sebastian Coe described Kerrâs performance as 'absolutely incredible' and 'foot perfect'
- Kerr wrote 'I ran 3.42 at the London Diamond League. July 18th, 2026' in his notebook daily
- Kerrâs ice baths were timed to last precisely three minutes and 42 seconds
- Kerrâs entire season was built around this one race due to the absence of an Olympics or world championships
- Kerrâs Brooks sponsor created custom spikes and aerodynamic race kit for the occasion
- Kerrâs training partner Brandon Miller won the menâs 800m
- Julien Alfred won the 200m and Kanyinsola Ajayi won the 100m
- Mondo Duplantis withdrew from the pole vault mid-competition due to a thigh injury
- Hodgkinson won her race in 1min 56.21sec, finishing ahead of Femke Broeders-Bol
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- The Guardian states the mile record was broken on July 18th, 2026, while ABC does not explicitly state the exact date of the record-breaking race but mentions the Commonwealth Games start on July 23rd, 2026, as the next major event
- The Guardian mentions Kerrâs 1500m split was 3:27.62, but ABC does not provide this detail
- The Guardian states Kerrâs previous best mile time was 3:45.34, while ABC also confirms this but does not mention the exact time in the same context as the Guardianâs detailed training preparation
Source Articles
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Scot breaks 27yo mile record, Aussies shine at Diamond League
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Josh Kerr makes athletics history by shattering one-mile world record in London
Time of 3min 42.66sec betters El Guerrouj in 1999 by 0.47 Kerr becomes seventh British man to hold record Having put himself out there in the manner that he did, Josh Kerr left nowhere else to go. He had to deliver on Saturday. You call your shot, you take it. So he did. And boy, was it spectacular. For the first time in 27 years there is a new one-mile world record-holder. On the morning of this London Diamond League meet, Sebastian Coe â a three-time mile world record-holder himself â describe