UK's Kerr smashes 27-year-old men's mile record

LONDON -- British runner Josh Kerr ran 3 minutes, 42.66 seconds to break the long-standing men's mile record at a Diamond League meeting in London on Saturday. Kerr, 28, broke Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj's mark of 3 minutes, 43.13 seconds, set in Rome in 1999 and set off on a lap of honor at London Stadium. Kerr's previous best time was 3:45.34 in 2024. He had targeted the mile race at the Diamond League meet as a main goal in a track season with neither Olympics nor world championships. The mile is not a championship event, yet it has iconic status in track history, with the four-minute barrier finally broken in 1954 by another British runner, Roger Bannister. Kerr was a silver medalist in the 1,500 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics.