Josh Kerr breaks world record for mile at Diamond League in London
Josh Kerr set a new world record for the mile at the Diamond League meeting in London, surpassing the previous mark.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Josh Kerr, a 28-year-old British middle-distance runner, set a new world record for the mile at the Diamond League meeting in London on Saturday. Competing in front of 60,000 fans at the London Stadium, Kerr crossed the line in 3 minutes 42.66 seconds, beating the previous record of 3 minutes 43.13 seconds set by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999. The improvement was nearly half a second.
Kerr had announced his intention to go for the record back in March, an unusual move for an athlete. He prepared for the attempt by training in New Mexico and using specially designed shoes and a speed suit. The mile is not an Olympic distance, but it holds a special place in athletics history as a benchmark of human endurance. Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile under four minutes in 1954, and Kerr is the seventh British athlete to hold the world record, the first since Steve Cram in 1985.
Speaking after the race, Kerr described the moment he saw the time as "incredible" and said he felt "a lot of relief" and "a lot of tension released." He dedicated the achievement to his team and said he wanted to be a role model for the next generation. His next target is the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which start in ten days, where he will compete in front of another home crowd.
The record-breaking run was the highlight of a busy day in British sport, which also included the third round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and the Women's World Cup final in New Jersey.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC NEWS | BBC One | ITV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Kerr broke the world record for the mile at the Diamond League meeting in London, running 3:42.66 to beat the previous record set in 1999. | |||
| The previous mile world record was set in 1999. | |||
| Kerr was reported to be either 1 year old or 18 months old when the previous record was set. | · | ||
| Kerr announced his attempt to break the mile world record in March. | · | · | |
| Kerr is the first British athlete to break the mile record since Steve Cram in 1985. | · | · | |
| Kerr's next focus is the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in ten days. | · | · | |
| The event took place in front of 60,000 people at the London Stadium. | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West focused on the historical significance of the record, placing Kerr's achievement in the context of British mile running history from Roger Bannister to Steve Cram. The report highlighted the unconventional nature of his attempt, including his early announcement and specialised preparation. The tone was celebratory and nationalistic, emphasising the 'first Brit since 1985' angle.
- “Josh Kerr took a breath and stared down at sporting history.”
- “The mile is not a distance they raced at the Olympics. It is instead a marker of what's humanly possible.”
- “He trained in New Mexico with shoes and a speed suit designed for this race.”
ITV1 placed greater emphasis on Kerr's personal reaction and his own words, including an interview where he described his emotions and future plans. The coverage also connected his achievement to the legacy of Roger Bannister and the 'British mile' tradition. The tone was warm and human-interest focused, with less historical detail than the BBC but more direct athlete commentary.
- “As soon as it stopped on that 42 point anything, I was a very happy man.”
- “It was a beautiful feeling, a lot of relief, a lot of tension was released in that moment.”
- “I had my role models growing up as well in the UK. And I wanted to be that for the next generation.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.