New Mexico Track & Field alum and Scottish athlete Josh Kerr put himself in the record books on Saturday, July 18, achieving a mile time of 3:42.66 at the London Diamond League to break the men’s world record. The previous record was established in 1999 by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco, who clocked in at 3:43.13. Prior to this race, Kerr was the sixth-fastest man in world history with a personal best of 3:45.34.
Down the home stretch, Kerr pulled away from Yared Nuguse over the final lap, with a negative 400-meter split of 54.87.
Kerr called his shot to break the record and backed up his words, having documented his months-long preparation and the lead-up to his performance on Saturday in an online series dubbed “Project 222”, named for the total number of seconds he’d need to beat in pursuit of the record.
“If I am to leave my mark on this sport as a British legend, following in the footsteps of the legends behind me, I have to put in those performances,” Kerr told BBC Sports after the race.
Kerr competed at the University of New Mexico from 2015-2018 and earned many accolades as a Lobo, winning three individual national championships, eight Mountain West titles and setting the collegiate record in the men’s 1500-meter run. Now with this accomplishment, he adds to his reputation and experience on an international stage.
Since leaving New Mexico, Kerr continued to progress his resume and has made his name known at the Olympic level as well, earning two Olympic medals so far; in 2020, Kerr took home bronze in the men’s 1,500-meter race at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and silver four years later in Paris in the same event.
Alex Joe is a freelance videographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo
