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. Josh Kerr is the current men's record holder with his time of 3:42.66, 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 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, 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 (IAAF) did not recognize women's records for the distance until 1967, when Anne Smith of the UK ran 4:37.0.

Men

Pre-IAAF

Professionals

Time Athlete Nationality Date Venue4:28 Charles Westhall 26 July 1855 London 4:28 Thomas Horspool 28 September 1857 Manchester4:23 Thomas Horspool 12 July 1858 Manchester 4:22 Siah Albison 27 October 1860 Manchester4:21 William Lang 11 July 1863 Manchester4:20 Edward Mills 23 April 1864 Manchester4:20 Edward Mills 25 June 1864 Manchester 4:17 William Lang 19 August 1865 Manchester 4:17 William Richards 19 August 1865 Manchester4:16 William Cummings 14 May 1881 Preston4:12 Walter George 23 August 1886 London

Amateurs

Time Athlete Nationality Date Venue4:55 J. Heaviside 1 April 1861 Dublin4:49 J. Heaviside 27 May 1861 Dublin 4:46 Matthew Greene 27 May 1861 Dublin 4:33 George Farran 23 May 1862 Dublin 4:29 Walter Chinnery 10 March 1868 London 4:28 Walter Gibbs 3 April 1868 London 4:28 Charles Gunton 31 March 1873 London 4:26 Walter Slade 30 May 1874 London4:24 Walter Slade 1 June 1875 London 4:23 Walter George 16 August 1880 London 4:19 Walter George 3 June 1882 London 4:18 Walter George 21 June 1884 Birmingham 4:17 Thomas Conneff 26 August 1893 Cambridge4:17 Fred Bacon 6 July 1895 London 4:15 Thomas Conneff 28 August 1895 New York City4:15 John Paul Jones 27 May 1911 Cambridge

As there was no recognized official sanctioning body until 1912, there are several versions of the mile progression before that year. One version starts with Richard Webster (GBR) who ran 4:36.5 in 1865, surpassed by Chinnery in 1868.

Another variation of the amateur record progression pre-1862 is as follows:

Time Athlete Nationality Date Venue4:52 Cadet Marshall 2 September 1852 Addiscombe 4:45 Thomas Finch 3 November 1858 Oxford 4:45 St. Vincent Hammick 15 November 1858 Oxford 4:40 Gerald Surman 24 November 1859 Oxford 4:33 George Farran 23 May 1862 Dublin

IAAF / World Athletics era The first world record in the mile for men (athletics) was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (later known as the International Association of Athletics Federations and currently known as World Athletics) 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

Time Auto Athlete Nationality Date Venue4:14.4 John Paul Jones 31 May 1913 Allston, Mass. 4:12.6 Norman Taber 16 July 1915 Allston, Mass. 4:10.4 Paavo Nurmi 23 August 1923 Stockholm 4:09.2 Jules Ladoumègue 4 October 1931 Paris 4:07.6 Jack Lovelock 15 July 1933 Princeton, N.J.4:06.8 Glenn Cunningham 16 June 1934 Princeton, N.J.4:06.4 Sydney Wooderson 28 August 1937 Motspur Park 4:06.2 Gunder Hägg 1 July 1942 Gothenburg4:06.2 Arne Andersson 10 July 1942 Stockholm 4:04.6 Gunder Hägg (2) 4 September 1942 Stockholm 4:02.6 Arne Andersson (2) 1 July 1943 Gothenburg 4:01.6 Arne Andersson (3) 18 July 1944 Malmö 4:01.4 Gunder Hägg (3) 17 July 1945 Malmö 3:59.4 Roger Bannister 6 May 1954 Oxford 3:58.0 John Landy 21 June 1954 Turku3:57.2 Derek Ibbotson 19 July 1957 London 3:54.5 Herb Elliott 6 August 1958 Dublin3:54.4 Peter Snell 27 January 1962 Wanganui 3:54.1 3:54.04 Peter Snell (2) 17 November 1964 Auckland 3:53.6 Michel Jazy 9 June 1965 Rennes 3:51.3 Jim Ryun 17 July 1966 Berkeley, Cal. 3:51.1 Jim Ryun (2) 23 June 1967 Bakersfield, Cal. 3:51.0 Filbert Bayi 17 May 1975 Kingston 3:49.4 John Walker 12 August 1975 Gothenburg3:49.0 3:48.95 Sebastian Coe 17 July 1979 Oslo 3:48.8 Steve Ovett 1 July 1980 Oslo 3:48.53 Sebastian Coe (2) 19 August 1981 Zürich 3:48.40 Steve Ovett (2) 26 August 1981 Koblenz 3:47.33 Sebastian Coe (3) 28 August 1981 Brussels3:46.32 Steve Cram 27 July 1985 Oslo 3:44.39 Noureddine Morceli 5 September 1993 Rieti 3:43.13 Hicham El Guerrouj 7 July 1999 Rome3:42.66 Josh Kerr 18 July 2026 London

The "Time" column indicates the ratified mark; the "Auto" column indicates a fully automatic time that was also recorded in the event when hand-timed marks were used for official records, or which was the basis for the official mark, rounded to the 10th of a second, depending on the rules then in place.

Records for the mile were rounded up to the nearest tenth of a second commencing January 1, 1957. Previously, records were rounded up to the nearest fifth of a second. Those rounded-up marks were: Cunningham's 4:06.8 (timed at 4:06.7); Hägg's 4:06.2 (4:06.1); Hägg's 4:01.4 (4:01.3); Landy's 3:58.0 (3:57.9). Landy's mark was not retroactively adjusted when the new rule came into effect. Auto times to the hundredth of a second were accepted by the IAAF for events up to and including 10,000 m beginning in 1981.

During the world record-setting race in 1999, Noah Ngeny came in second place to Hicham El Guerrouj with a time of 3:43.40, which stood as the second fastest mile in history until the new record was set by Josh Kerr in July 2026.

Men's indoor

Men indoor pre-IAAF Time Auto Athlete Nationality Date Venue4:39.2 Lawrence Myers April 25, 1885 New York, N.Y.4:39.2 Ernest Hjertberg May 10, 1889 New York, N.Y.4:31.4 William Day February 5, 1890 Brooklyn, N.Y.4:28.4 Ernest Hjertberg February 13, 1892 Boston, Mass.4:26.0 Andrew Walsh November 30, 1895 Brooklyn, N.Y.4:25.2 Melvin Sheppard January 26, 1906 New York, N.Y.4:23.8 Melvin Sheppard March 30, 1906 New York, N.Y.4:19.8 Herbert Trube February 13, 1909 New York, N.Y.4:19.8 Oscar Hedlund February 22, 1912 Troy, N.Y.4:18.8 Oscar Hedlund February 12, 1913 New York, N.Y.4:18.2 Abel Kiviat February 15, 1913 New York, N.Y.4:16.0 John Overton March 10, 1917 Philadelphia, Pa.4:14.6 Joseph Ray April 12, 1919 Chicago, Ill.4:13.6 Paavo Nurmi January 6, 1925 New York, N.Y.4:13.4 Lloyd Hahn February 14, 1925 New York, N.Y.4:12.0 Paavo Nurmi March 7, 1925 Buffalo, N.Y.4:12.0 Joseph Ray March 17, 1925 New York, N.Y.4:11.2 Gene Venzke February 6, 1932 New York, N.Y.4:10.0 Gene Venzke February 17, 1932 New York, N.Y.4:09.8 Glenn Cunningham March 25, 1933 Chicago, Ill.4:08.4 Glenn Cunningham March 17, 1934 New York, N.Y.4:04.4 Glenn Cunningham March 3, 1938 Hanover, N.H.4:07.4 Glenn Cunningham March 12, 1938 New York, N.Y.4:07.4 Charles Fenske February 3, 1940 New York, N.Y.4:07.4 Charles Fenske February 17, 1940 New York, N.Y.4:07.4 Leslie MacMitchell February 15, 1941 New York, N.Y.4:07.4 Walter Mehl February 15, 1941 New York, N.Y.4:07.3 Gilbert Dodds March 11, 1944 New York, N.Y.4:06.4 Gilbert Dodds March 18, 1944 Chicago, Ill.4:05.3 Gilbert Dodds January 31, 1948 New York, N.Y.4:04.9 Wes Santee February 15, 1954 East Lansing, Mich.4:03.8 Wes Santee January 29, 1955 Boston, Mass.4:03.6 Gunnar Nielsen February 5, 1955 New York, N.Y.4:03.4 Ron Delany March 14, 1958 Chicago, Ill.4:02.5 Ron Delany February 21, 1959 New York, N.Y.4:01.4 Ron Delany March 7, 1959 New York, N.Y.3:58.9 Jim Beatty February 10, 1962 Los Angeles, Cal.3:58.6 Jim Beatty February 15, 1963 New York, N.Y.3:56.6 Tom O'Hara February 13, 1964 New York, N.Y.3:56.4 Tom O'Hara March 6, 1964 Chicago, Ill.3:56.4 Jim Ryun February 19, 1971 San Diego, Cal.3:55.0 Tony Waldrop February 17, 1974 San Diego, Cal.3:55.0 3:54.93 Dick Buerkle January 13, 1978 College Park, Md.3:52.6 Eamonn Coghlan February 16, 1979 San Diego, Cal.3:50.6 Eamonn Coghlan February 20, 1981 San Diego, Cal.

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.

Time Athlete Nationality Date Venue3:49.78 Eamonn Coghlan February 27, 1983 East Rutherford3:48.45 Hicham El Guerrouj February 12, 1997 Ghent3:47.01 Yomif Kejelcha March 3, 2019 Boston3:46.63 Yared Nuguse February 8, 2025 New York3:45.14Jakob 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 (i.e: elevation gradient must not exceed one meter per kilometer, start and finish line must not be more than half a mile apart). 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: Time Athlete Nationality Date Venue 4:01.21 Samuel Prakel April 25, 2023 Des Moines3:56.13 Hobbs Kessler October 1, 2023 Riga3:54.6h Emmanuel Wanyonyi April 27, 2024 Herzogenaurach3:51.3h Elliot Giles September 1, 2024 Düsseldorf

Women

Pre-IAAF

Time Athlete Nationality Date Venue6:13.2 Elizabeth Atkinson 24 June 1921 Manchester 5:27.5 Ruth Christmas 20 August 1932 London 5:24.0 Gladys Lunn 1 June 1936 Brentwood 5:23.0 Gladys Lunn 18 July 1936 London 5:20.8 Gladys Lunn 8 May 1937 Dudley 5:17.0 Gladys Lunn 7 August 1937 London 5:15.3 Evelyn Forster 22 July 1939 London 5:11.0 Anne Oliver 14 June 1952 London 5:09.8 Enid Harding 4 June 1953 London 5:08.0 Anne Oliver 12 September 1953 Consett 5:02.6 Diane Leather 30 September 1953 London 5:00.3 Edith Treybal 1 November 1953 Timișoara 5:00.2 Diane Leather 26 May 1954 Birmingham 4:59.6 Diane Leather 29 May 1954 Birmingham 4:50.8 Diane Leather 24 May 1955 London 4:45.0 Diane Leather 21 September 1955 London 4:41.4 Marise Chamberlain 8 December 1962 Perth 4:39.2 Anne Smith 13 May 1967 London

Women's IAAF era

The first world record in the mile for women (athletics) was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (later known as the International Association of Athletics Federations and currently known as World Athletics), in 1967. To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 13 world records in the event.