British runner Josh Kerr shattered the 27-year-old world mile record at the London Diamond League, clocking 3 minutes 42.66 seconds in front of a capacity 60,000 crowd at London Stadium. The 28-year-old Briton shaved 0.47 seconds off Hicham El Guerrouj's long-standing mark set in 1999, when Kerr was just one year old.
As part of his "Project 222," Kerr had targeted a sub-223-second race. With Saturday's run, he became the sixth Briton to hold the mile record. "It was very overwhelming. There was a lot of hype," Kerr said. "I am surrounded by amazing people and was just able to stay consistent, put the work in, and I knew I had 3:42 in me. I nearly lost it there at the end, but I got over the line."
The 2023 world 1,500-meter champion announced in March he would target the Moroccan's record, incorporating 222-second ice-bath recoveries into his training. "I am lucky to be able to string the training together," said Kerr, who trains at high altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "It felt like I had a kitchen full of incredible chefs, and they are like, 'What the heck are we going to make?' and this is the dish I want to make, so let's go to work and get the world record."
A two-time world indoor 3,000-meter winner, Kerr was paced by training partner Brannon Kidder and Slovenia's Zan Rudolph. Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nuguse clung on until the final 200 meters before Kerr accelerated to victory, punching the air in ecstasy as the crowd roared.
"The last lap was incredible," Kerr said. "I was deaf in the last 110 meters!" Before El Guerrouj, British milers were an institution, with Roger Bannister running the first sub-four-minute mile in 1954, followed by legends Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe, and Steve Cram dominating from 1979-93.
"If I'm to leave my mark on this sport as a British legend, with the legends behind me and following in their footsteps, I have to put in those performances," Kerr said. "Those performances take every single part of you, every single part of your team. Today, it was a performance I was able to bring out – I just hoped it would be a little bit faster!"
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe presented Kerr with a $50,000 check and a book on winning milers. Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson won the women's 800 meters in 1:56.21. The US's Brandon Miller surprised in the men's 800 meters with a personal best of 1:42.19, while Kenya's Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi finished fourth after targeting David Rudisha's world record.
Armand Duplantis withdrew from the men's pole vault after clearing 5.95 meters, citing a thigh issue ahead of the European Championships. The US's Sam Kendricks took first place. Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred won the women's 200 meters in 21.66. Kanyinsola Ajayi beat world champion Oblique Seville, equaling the Nigerian record of 9.84 seconds. World record holder Karsten Warholm ran the fastest 400-meter hurdles this year at 46.61.
Australia's Nicola Olyslagers set a world lead of 2.01 meters in the women's high jump. In the women's discus, the US's Cierra Jackson improved her personal best by nearly four meters with her final throw to set a Diamond League record of 71.72 meters, ahead of double Olympic champion Valarie Sion.
Source: www.aljazeera.com