Mile run world record progression

Rare card · No. 73518

The world record in the mile run is currently held by runners Josh Kerr, the current men's world record holder, with a time of 3:42.66 set on July 18, 2026, and Faith Kipyegon, the current women's record holder, with a time of 4:07.64 set on June 26, 2025. Since 1976, the mile has been the only non-metric distance recognized by World Athletics (formerly the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)) for record purposes. In international competitions such as the Olympics the term "metric mile" is sometimes used to refer to a distance of 1,500 meters, which is 109.344 meters shorter than an Imperial mile, even though four "full" laps of a 400 meter track is equal to 1,600 meters. Accurate times for the mile run (1.609344 km) have been recorded since 1850, when the first precisely measured running tracks were built. Progression of the mile record accelerated in the 1930s as newsreel coverage greatly popularized the sport, making stars out of milers such as Jules Ladoumègue...

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