Josh Kerr from Great Britain has been officially acknowledged as the world record holder for the men’s mile, following the ratification of his remarkable time of 3:42.66 by World Athletics. This announcement also included the validation of three additional records set during the summer.
On Monday, World Athletics confirmed the ratification of records for Yomif Kejelcha in the men’s half-marathon, Alison dos Santos in the men’s 400m hurdles, and Masai Russell in the women’s 100m hurdles.
(From left) Yomif Kejelcha, Masai Russell, Alison dos Santos and Josh Kerr. Photo: World Athletics
Kerr conquers the mile
Kerr was the first among the four athletes to achieve a significant milestone, clocking a time of 3:42.66 to set a new men’s mile world record at the Novuna London Athletics Meet on July 18. The reigning world champion in the 1,500m shattered one of the most enduring records in athletics, surpassing Hicham El Guerrouj’s longstanding mark of 3:43.13, established in July 1999.
During his record-setting run, Kerr completed the first 400m in 55.3 seconds, the 800m in 1:51.1, and the 1,200m in 2:46.39 before finishing strong at 3:42.66. Notably, his 1,500m split of 3:27.62 was even quicker than his previous British record for that distance.
Josh Kerr at 2024 World Indoors. Photo: Kevin Morris
Kejelcha reclaims half-marathon record
A little over a month later, Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia reclaimed the men’s half-marathon world record during the Media Maratón Ciudad de Buenos Aires in Argentina on August 23, finishing the race in a time of 56:51.
Kejelcha’s performance saw him cut 29 seconds off the former record of 57:20, which was held by Jacob Kiplimo and set in Lisbon on March 8. Previously, Kejelcha had held the record with a time of 57:30 achieved in Valencia in October 2024.
Yomif Kejelcha running at Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo: Kevin Morris
Two hurdles records fall on the same day
The last two records were established on August 27 at the Weltklasse Diamond League meeting in Zurich. Alison dos Santos, the 2022 world champion in the 400m hurdles, set a new world record with a time of 45.80, breaking Karsten Warholm’s previous record of 45.94 set during the Tokyo Olympics on August 3, 2021.
Shortly thereafter, Masai Russell claimed the women’s 100m hurdles world record with a time of 12.09. The American Olympic champion had previously come close to breaking the record twice this season, finally surpassing Tobi Amusan’s mark of 12.12 set at the 2022 World Championships.