The British mile record holder wants to break the Moroccan’s 27-year mark.
At this year’s London Diamond League (July 18), Josh Kerr will leave behind one of the toughest records in the world of athletics.
In front of a likely sold-out stadium in London, the world indoor 1500m and double 3000m champion will try. beat Hicham El Gerouj’s world mile record of 3:43.13.
The Moroccan set the mark in a packed Stadio Olimpico just before the turn of the century, in a race where El Gerouj had just seen off Kenya’s Noah Ngeni, who himself ran 3:43.40. Those two times are still the two fastest in history.
At the 2023 Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic, Jacob Ingebrigtsen (3:43.73) and Jared Nuguse (3:43.97) both broke 3:44, but were still half a second off the world record.
For this reason, if Covid-19 affects 2020, the first year since 2018 without the Olympics or the World Athletics Championships, many athletes will base their season around record attempts.
Named Project 222 – 222 seconds equals a 3:42 mile – Kerr said. “This record deserves a home, this record needs to be brought home and this is a British record. This is British distance, it would be a disservice to the UK not to do it at home.”
“I’m really excited. There are no guarantees in this, this is a record that deserves a lot of respect. I think I’m honoring it by coming out and talking about it. I want to do it with the people I follow, I have a great team.”
The world mile record has been held by six Britons in history, each famous in their own right. Sidney Wooderson held it for five years from 1937 to 1942, running 4:06.4.
Roger Bannister held the record for just 46 days, but his 3.59.4 at Oxford’s Iffley Road Track is undoubtedly one of the greatest sporting achievements in history.
After John Landy bettered Bannister’s mark, Derek Ibbotson went even faster in 1957, running 3:57.2 at London’s White City Stadium.
It would take 22 years before a Briton would hold the record again until Sebastian Coe ran 3:49.0 in Oslo. Between 1979 and 1993, Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram ensured that the record remained in British hands.
Kerr, who holds the national mile record in 3:45.34 and is sixth on the world all-time list, will leave no stone unturned to ensure the world record goes to another Briton.
His sponsor, Brooks, will create a custom cleat for him, within World Athletics regulations, that will be built around his biomechanics. It will feature both advanced cushioning and a tuned carbon plate system.
Kerr will also test aerodynamic speed suit concepts and will also have a say in the pacing strategy for the Stratford race.
He will take part in the Emsley Carr Mile, which returns to the London Diamond League for the first time in two years.
The Emsley Carr Mile was opened in 1953 by Sir William Carr in memory of his father, Sir Emsley Carr, a former editor of the News of the World.
The fastest time recorded for the Emsley Carr Mile and the fastest mile ever recorded on British soil is 3:45.96 by Hicham El Gerouj of Morocco in 2000 at Crystal Palace.
