| Athletics Mile run | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Matt Centrowitz and Nick Willis racing for first place in the 2015 Wanamaker Mile. Centrowitz ends up beating Willis by 0.11 seconds, in a time of 3:51.35.[1] | |
| World records | |
| Men |  Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 3:43.13 (1999) |
| Women |  Faith Kipyegon (KEN) 4:07.64 (2023) |
| Short track world records | |
| Men |  Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) 3:47.01 (2019) |
| Women | Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 4:13.31 (2016) |
| World junior (U20) records | |
| Men | Reynold Cheruiyot (KEN) 3:48.06 (2023) |
| Women | Birke Haylom (ETH) 4:17.13 (2023) |
The mile run (1,760 yards,[2] 5,280 feet, or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race.
The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races.[citation needed] It survived track and field's switch to metric distances in the 1900s and retained its popularity, with the chase for the four-minute mile in the 1950s a high point for the race.
In spite of the roughly equivalent 1500 metres race, which is used instead of the mile at the World Championships and Olympic Games and is sometimes referred as the foremost middle-distance track event in athletics, the mile run is present in all fields of athletics, and since 1976, it is the only imperial distance World Athletics has on its books for official world records.[a]
Although the mile is not featured at any major championships, the Wanamaker Mile, Dream Mile, Emsley Carr Mile and Bowerman Mile races are among the foremost annual middle-distance races.
| Athletics Road Mile | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 2018 Women's Fifth Avenue Mile. | |
| World records | |
| Men |  Elliot Giles (GBR) 3:51.3 (2024) |
| Women | Diribe Welteji (ETH) 4:20.98 (2023) |
The current mile world record holders are Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco with a time of 3:43.13 and Faith Kipyegon of Kenya with the Women's record of 4:07.64.
Despite being only 109.344 metres longer, the mile is distinctly different from its much more common 1500 metres counterpart. World record holder Hicham El Guerrouj considers the mile to be his more challenging event.[3]
“My favourite is 1500m. It’s part of my heart. I competed in it a lot and I know every metre of this race. The mile is completely different. If you are not strong physically and mentally, you cannot run it well.”
— Hicham El Guerrouj
Each lap during El Guerrouj's world record run averaged 55.46 seconds per 400 m.[4] Along with El Guerrouj, only three other men in history have broken the 3:44 barrier in the mile; Noah Ngeny (in the same race as El Guerrouj), Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and Yared Nuguse.[5]
- ^ "Matt Centrowitz Wins 2015 Wanamaker Mile in Thrilling Stretch Run over Nick Willis at Millrose Games".
- ^ It has always been customary to give horizontal distances in yards and vertical distances in feet.
- ^ "El Guerrouj: "Ingebrigtsen can break my records (but I'd rather he didn't!)"". AW. 6 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "Pace Calculator". www.calculator.net. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- ^ "One Mile - men - senior - all". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).