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British runner Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile which stood for 27 years

126 points by austinallegro

by js2

6 subcomments

Watch him do it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYi2f4ONEDg&t=180
What an incredible performance. I've seen a sub-4 mile in person. These guys are absolutely flying. All of them. And he beats the pants off that field.
Splits (400m):
```
  400m: 55.3
  800m: 1:51.1 (56.8 second lap)
  1200m: 2:46.5 (55.4 second lap)
  1600m: 3:41.4 (54.9 third lap)
  Mile: 3:42.66
```
Splits (100m):
```
  100m: 13.8
  200m: 27.5 (13.7)
  300m: 41.0 (13.5)
  400m: 55.3 (14.3)
  500m: 1:09.3 (14.0)
  600m: 1:23.2 (13.9)
  700m: 1:37.0 (13.8)
  800m: 1:51.1 (14.1)
  900m: 2:05.1 (14.0)
  1000m: 2:18.8 (13.7)
  1100m: 2:32.6 (13.8)
  1200m: 2:46.5 (13.9)
  1300m: 3:00.3 (13.8)
  1400m: 3:14.0 (13.7)
  1500m: 3:27.7 (13.7)
  1600m: 3:41.4 (13.7)
  Mile: 3:42.66 (1.2 for the final 9.34m)
```
Splits copied from https://xcancel.com/ChrisChavez/status/2078494868540637695
Official results at https://london.diamondleague.com/programme-results/
Unfortunately you can't link directly to the 1 mile results. Scroll down to the table, select "1 Mile Men", then select "Reports", then "Race Analysis" and/or "Race Analysis Graphical". That leads to these two PDFs (not sure these links are stable):
https://ps-cache.web.swisstiming.com/node/binaryData/ATH_PRO...
https://ps-cache.web.swisstiming.com/node/binaryData/ATH_PRO...

by __turbobrew__

7 subcomments

He had a special singlet designed and undoubtedly carbon shoes. Makes you wonder how much raw human potential has progressed vs just having better equipment and track surfaces?

by nianderwallace

0 subcomment

Reaction from Kerr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeE4S_d1tl0

Reaction from three other runners in that race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z-MM1ArK88

More info on Kerr's typical training week from https://www.dailymail.com/sport/othersports/article-15987481... :

  Monday
  - Ten mile easy run
  - 15 minutes of form drills, sprints over small hurdles
  - Rotate between sauna and cold tub 

  Tuesday
  - Three-mile warm up, nine to ten miles continuous run at tempo pace, three miles cool down
  - Four x 120m strides
  - Session in the gym, lifting weights for up to 90 minutes

  Wednesday
  - Easy run lasting seven to eight miles 
  - Rotate between sauna and cold tub

  Thursday
  - Ten to 11 miles at a moderate intensity
  - Plyometrics and dynamic exercises

  Friday
  - Workout on the track
  - Race-specific 1500m/mile sessions
  - Session in the gym, lifting weights for up to 90 minutes

  Saturday
  - Rest. Spends time walking dog with his wife Larimar 

  Sunday
  - Long run of around 16 miles including some faster tempo pick-ups

Probably in the 60-80 miles per week range.

by card_zero

0 subcomment

The BBC headline writes it as "27-year mile world record", which works out at about one quarter inch per hour.

by steele

0 subcomment

Scottish too

by hulitu

0 subcomment

But can he beat the record for furlong ?

by davidw

3 subcomments

What are the rules around pacers for this kind of thing? Are there separate records for with/without pacers?

by casey2

1 subcomments

Are the guys in first and second just windbreaking for him or what's going on?
Very odd.

by rvz

0 subcomment

Finally, some exciting news about a record-breaking achievement in human athleticism that deserves worthy attention for once, instead of more of the same AI news.
Congratulations to him!

by lysace

0 subcomment

In Swedish news reports they were careful to specify that it was the "English mile" (sic, ish?).
For clarity, the one that is used in UK, US and Liberia. It is exactly 1609.344 meters.
Disambiguation (not readily available in non-simple English wikipedia): https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile

by dyauspitr

4 subcomments

Is this because most East Africans don’t really try to beat the mile (instead doing the 1500m) since there’s no money in it?