LONDON: Briton Josh Kerr etched his name in the pantheon of milers by setting a new world record in the men’s mile on Saturday at the London Diamond League.
The 28-year-old US-based Scot clocked 3 minutes 42.66 seconds at the London Stadium, beating the previous record of 3:43.13 set by Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome in 1999.
Kerr built his season off of El Guerrouj’s previous best mark.
The Scot had threatened before the race that his body was “capable of scoring”.
British record holder Kerr, an Olympic silver medalist in the 1,500m, started the race in a personal best of 3:45.34, sixth on the all-time list.
A double world indoor winner over 3,000m, Kerr was paced to perfection by his training partner Brannon Kidder and Slovenia’s Zan Rudolph.
Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nuguse, the North American record holder and fourth on the all-time mile list, hung on to Kerr until the final 200 meters.
The Scot then lit the show in front of a crowd of almost 60,000 in a raucous stadium built for the 2012 London Olympics.
He roared through the queue, hitting the air in ecstasy, the exultant crowd on their feet in deafening welcome for their new hero.
Before El Guerrouj established himself as world record holder, British milers were an institution on the track.
Roger Bannister was the first man to run a mile in under 4 minutes in 1954.
Next came middle distance legends Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram, who dominated the event from 1979 to 1993.
World Athletics President Coe was on hand to present Kerr with a check for $50,000 and a book about winning milers.
