Mile Record Falls by Plenty

Josh Kerr took his place alongside fellow British record holders Roger Bannister, Steve Ovett, and Sebastian Coe on Saturday, setting a men's mile world record of 3:42.66. Hicham El Guerrouj's mark of 3:43.13, set in Rome, had stood for 27 years. The reigning 1,500-meter world champion broke away on the final lap at a Diamond League meet in London, the Independent reports, dropping American Olympic medalist Yared Nuguse, who finished second in 3:45.69. Britain's Jake Heyward took third in a personal best 3:46.73, while Germany's Robert Farken set a national record in fourth. Kerr also rewrote the British 1,500-meter record en route, with his split of 3:27.51 edging his own previous mark.

"I knew I had 3:42 in me," Kerr, 28, told the BBC, adding that the performance "took every single part" of him and his team. Coe was in the crowd of 60,000 to watch Kerr, who had publicly targeted the record and documented his buildup in a YouTube series. No one had come close to the record set in 1999. But Kerr had set out his plan publicly in March, then delivered on it Saturday in a style evocative of Muhammad Ali's, per the Telegraph. He intentionally kept behind teammate Brannon Kidder, hitting his goals for the first lap and 800-meter point—1 minute, 51 seconds. Kerr had said he intended to soak up energy from the crowd before kicking in at full speed.

Kidder stepped aside, and as the crowd noise reached 2012 Olympics levels, Kerr came to the front with 500 meters to go. By the final lap, the Telegraph reports, "Kerr was left in an intensely personal race with the lights" that indicated he was on a world-record pace. Buoyed by the crowd's support, Kerr said, per the AP, "It was just me, my shoes and the track." He let out a roar as he crossed the finish line. Coe presented him with a book containing the past record holders and a check for more than $60,000. Kerr thanked his team and spoke of the work it took to get him to the record. "Today it was a performance I was able to bring out," he said, per the BBC. "I just hoped it would be a little bit faster!"