Mile Record Broken (August 20, 2026)

Imagine for a moment: you're running as fast as you can, heart pounding, and in less than four minutes, you cross the finish line as a world champion! 

That's exactly what runner Josh Kerr experienced when he broke a record that had stood for years. 

But what exactly is a mile? And where did this very special race come from? 

Today, you're going to investigate one of the most famous distances in all of sports.

The activity has three steps:

STEP 1 — A Limit Constantly Pushed. You'll discover some interesting facts about this mile race.

STEP 2 — A Mile, a Kilometer... You'll be able to compare these two units of measurement... and convert them to each other!

STEP 3 — A Record Falling. How far will the quest for the fastest mile go?

Here is what the final result of your activity will look like. →

For over a century, runners from all over the world have dreamed of the same thing: going ever faster over a mythical distance, the mile.

Every time a record seems impossible to break, an athlete ends up pushing it a little further.

Recently, Briton Josh Kerr wrote a new chapter in this story.

First, watch his finish, then discover how this race has fascinated champions for over a hundred years.

◄ Take a minute to watch Josh Kerr's finish and his new world mile record!

🏃♂️ An Insurmountable Barrier ⏱️ 

The mile is one of the most famous races in the history of athletics. This distance of approximately 1,609 meters comes from the British system of measurement. It is, in fact, the only race in a non-metric unit for which world records are still officially recognized.

For a long time, running a mile in under four minutes seemed impossible. Some scientists even believed the human body wasn't capable of it. Then, on May 6, 1954, a young British medical student named Roger Bannister achieved the feat: he ran the mile in 3 minutes and 59 seconds. The whole world was astonished.

Over the years, the greatest athletes have strived to improve this record, second by second. For 27 years, the mark belonged to the Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj, who ran the mile in 3 minutes and 43.13 seconds in 1999. Then, on July 18, 2026, in London, the Briton Josh Kerr crossed the finish line in 3 minutes and 42.66 seconds. By breaking this legendary record, he too has entered the long history of mile champions.

You're probably familiar with kilometers: it's what you see on roadside signs.

But the mile remains a mystery to many people!

In several countries, like the United States and the United Kingdom, distances are measured in miles, not kilometers.

So, which one is longer? And how do you convert between them without making a mistake?

Follow the guide ▼, and you'll quickly become a distance expert! 🏆

A world record is never set forever! 

For decades, the best runners on the planet have taken turns trying to run the mile a little faster each time. Each time, they shave off a few seconds, sometimes only a few tenths.

The graph you're about to look at tells the story of this long race against time, from 1945 to the present day.

Watch closely how the curve descends, step by step, until the very latest feat, that of Josh Kerr.