British runner Josh Kerr broke the mile world record on July 18, 2026, at the Novuna London Athletics Meet (Wanda Diamond League) in London Stadium, running 3:42.66. He shaved nearly half a second off the previous mark of 3:43.13 set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome in 1999.
Kerr, 28, from Edinburgh, announced his bid to break the record in late March and dubbed the attempt “Project 222” with sponsor Brooks Running—a reference to the target number of seconds he needed to be at or under. After the race he told BBC Sport, “It’s very overwhelming with the amount of hype. It’s silly to call your shot that early, obviously a lot of things can go wrong. But I’m surrounded by amazing people, and I was able to just stay consistent, put the work in.”
Coach Danny Mackey said the attempt was unusually time-focused for Kerr, with preparations built around hitting the exact pace required. The team monitored rivals and adjusted plans if anyone else had lowered the mark before the July meet. Kerr trained at altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Brooks provided custom spikes and a speed suit. Two training partners paced him during the race to keep the splits on target.
American Yared Nuguse finished second, about three seconds behind Kerr, and Britain’s Jake Heyward took third. Kerr’s victory adds him to a long line of British mile record holders; historically notable figures include Roger Bannister, Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett.
Kerr is the 2023 world champion in the 1500 meters and won the Olympic silver medal in the same event at the 2024 Paris Games. He is an alumnus of the University of New Mexico, where he set the collegiate 1500m record in 2018, a mark that stood until Nuguse broke it in 2021.
Breaking El Guerrouj’s 1999 record in London carried special significance for Kerr: he had spoken about the history of the mile and the pride of potentially becoming the seventh British holder of the world record, particularly on British soil.