Mile run world record progression


The world record in the mile run is the fastest time set by a runner in the middle-distance track and field event. World Athletics is the official body which oversees the records. Hicham El Guerrouj is the current men's record holder with his time of 3:43.13, while Faith Kipyegon has the women's record of 4:07.64. Since 1976, the mile has been the only non-metric distance recognized by the 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 have been recorded since 1850, when the first precisely measured running tracks were built. Foot racing had become popular in England by the 17th century, when footmen would race and their masters would wager on the result. By the 19th century "pedestrianism", as it was called, had become extremely popular and the best times recorded in the period were by professionals. Even after professional foot racing died out, it was not until 1915 that the professional record of 4:12 was surpassed by an amateur.
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, Jack Lovelock, and Glenn Cunningham. In the 1940s, Swedes Arne Andersson and Gunder Hägg lowered the record to 4:01.4 while racing was curtailed during World War II in the combatant countries. After the war, Roger Bannister of the United Kingdom and John Landy of Australia vied to be the first to break the fabled four-minute mile barrier. Roger Bannister did it first on May 6, 1954, and John Landy followed 46 days later.
On the women's side, the first sub-5:00 mile was achieved by the UK's Diane Leather 23 days after Bannister's first sub-4:00 mile. However, the International Association of Athletics Federations did not recognize women's records for the distance until 1967, when Anne Smith of the UK ran 4:37.0.

Men


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Professionals

TimeAthleteNationalityDateVenue
4:28Charles Westhall26 July 1855London
4:28Thomas Horspool28 September 1857Manchester
4:23Thomas Horspool12 July 1858Manchester
4:22Siah Albison27 October 1860Manchester
4:21William Lang11 July 1863Manchester
4:20Edward Mills23 April 1864Manchester
4:20Edward Mills25 June 1864Manchester
4:17William Lang19 August 1865Manchester
4:17William Richards19 August 1865Manchester
4:16William Cummings14 May 1881Preston
4:12Walter George23 August 1886London

Amateurs

TimeAthleteNationalityDateVenue
4:55J. Heaviside1 April 1861Dublin
4:49J. Heaviside27 May 1861Dublin
4:46Matthew Greene27 May 1861Dublin
4:33George Farran23 May 1862Dublin
4:29Walter Chinnery10 March 1868London
4:28Walter Gibbs3 April 1868London
4:28Charles Gunton31 March 1873London
4:26Walter Slade30 May 1874London
4:24Walter Slade1 June 1875London
4:23Walter George16 August 1880London
4:19Walter George3 June 1882London
4:18Walter George21 June 1884Birmingham
4:17Thomas Conneff26 August 1893Cambridge
4:17Fred Bacon6 July 1895London
4:15Thomas Conneff28 August 1895New York City
4:15John Paul JonesUnited States|1908GBR|1801GBR|1801GBR|1801GBR|1801GBR|1801

IAAF / World Athletics era

The first world record in the mile for men was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation in 1913.
To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 32 world records in the event.
Ratified
Not ratified
Ratified but later rescinded
Pending ratification

TimeAutoAthleteNationalityDateVenue
4:14.4John Paul JonesUnited States|1912

Men's Indoor

Men Indoor IAAF era

The IAAF started to recognize indoor world records in 1987, with the then world's best time, Coghlan's 3:49.78, ratified as the inaugural record for the mile.
TimeAthleteNationalityDateVenue
3:49.78Eamonn CoghlanFebruary 27, 1983East Rutherford
3:48.45Hicham El GuerroujFebruary 12, 1997Ghent
3:47.01Yomif KejelchaMarch 3, 2019Boston
3:46.63Yared NuguseFebruary 8, 2025New York
3:45.14Jakob IngebrigtsenFebruary 13, 2025Liévin

Road Men

IAAF Era

The Road Mile became an official world record event after September 1, 2023, on World Athletics Certified Courses only. Faster times have been recorded in non-compliant events such as the Fifth Avenue Mile. The winning times from the 2023 U.S. Road Mile Championships, on 25 April, were ratified by World Athletics as the inaugural road mile world records.
Key:
h = hand-timed
Source:
TimeAthleteNationalityDateVenueRef
4:01.21Samuel PrakelApril 25, 2023Des Moines-
3:56.13Hobbs KesslerOctober 1, 2023Riga-
3:54.6hEmmanuel WanyonyiKenyaGBR

Women


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Pre-IAAF

TimeAthleteNationalityDateVenue
6:13.2Elizabeth Atkinson24 June 1921Manchester
5:27.5Ruth Christmas20 August 1932London
5:24.0 Gladys Lunn1 June 1936Brentwood
5:23.0 Gladys Lunn18 July 1936London
5:20.8 Gladys Lunn8 May 1937Dudley
5:17.0 Gladys Lunn7 August 1937London
5:15.3 Evelyn Forster22 July 1939London
5:11.0 Anne Oliver14 June 1952London
5:09.8 Enid Harding4 June 1953London
5:08.0 Anne Oliver12 September 1953Consett
5:02.6 Diane Leather30 September 1953London
5:00.3 Edith TreybalRomania|1952GBRGBRGBRGBRNZLGBR

Women's IAAF era

The first world record in the mile for women was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, in 1967. To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 13 world records in the event.
TimeAutoAthleteNationalityDateVenue
4:37.0Anne Smith3 June 1967London
4:36.8Maria Gommers14 June 1969Leicester
4:35.3Ellen Tittel20 August 1971Sittard
4:29.5Paola Pigni8 August 1973Viareggio
4:23.8Natalia MărășescuRomania|1965

Road Women

IAAF Era

Note: The Road Mile became an official world record event after September 1, 2023, on World Athletics Certified Courses only. The winning times from the 2023 U.S. Road Mile Championships, on 25 April, were ratified by World Athletics as the inaugural road mile world records.
Key:
Wo = Women Only Race
Source:
TimeAthleteNationalityDateVenue
4:27.97 WoNikki HiltzApril 25, 2023Des Moines
4:20.98 WoDeribe WeltejiOctober 1, 2023Riga