From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
Mile run world record progression
List of world records for the mile run
List of world records for the mile run
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 (1.609344 km) 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 (set by Walter George in 1886) 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 (IAAF) did not recognize women's records for the distance until 1967, when Anne Smith of the UK ran 4:37.0.
Men
The chart is clipped at 3:20 (200 seconds), and magnified by 3 (three pixels height equal 1 second) ImageSize = width:700 height:300 # The width can be changed without much harm (remember to change the PlotArea below too) PlotArea = width:650 height:280 left:25 bottom:20
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:1850 till:2000 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1850
Colors= id:grid value: gray(0.5)
LineData= width: 0.1 color: grid from: start till: end atpos: 30 from: start till: end atpos: 60 from: start till: end atpos: 90 from: start till: end atpos: 120 from: start till: end atpos: 150 from: start till: end atpos: 180 from: start till: 01/01/1960 atpos: 210 from: start till: 01/01/1960 atpos: 240 from: start till: end atpos: 270 TextData= pos:(0,30) text: "3:30" pos:(0,60) text: "3:40" pos:(0,90) text: "3:50" pos:(0,120) text: "4:00" pos:(0,150) text: "4:10" pos:(0,180) text: "4:20" pos:(0,210) text: "4:30" pos:(0,240) text: "4:40" pos:(0,270) text: "4:50"
TextData= fontsize: M pos:(520,250) textcolor: blue text: Amateurs pos:(520,220) textcolor: red text: Professionals pos:(520,190) textcolor: orange text: IAAF
LineData= width: 0.2 color: red at: 26/07/1852 tillpos: 204 at: 28/09/1857 tillpos: 204 at: 12/07/1858 tillpos: 189 at: 27/10/1860 tillpos: 186.75 at: 11/07/1863 tillpos: 185.25 at: 23/04/1864 tillpos: 181.5 at: 19/08/1865 tillpos: 171.75 at: 19/08/1865 tillpos: 171.75 at: 14/05/1881 tillpos: 168.6 at: 23/08/1886 tillpos: 158.25
LineData= width: 0.2 color: blue at: 02/09/1852 tillpos: 276.0 at: 03/11/1858 tillpos: 255.0 at: 15/11/1858 tillpos: 255.0 at: 24/11/1859 tillpos: 240.0 at: 23/05/1862 tillpos: 219.0 at: 10/03/1868 tillpos: 208.8 at: 03/04/1868 tillpos: 206.4 at: 31/03/1873 tillpos: 205.8 at: 30/05/1874 tillpos: 198.0 at: 19/06/1875 tillpos: 193.5 at: 16/08/1880 tillpos: 189.6 at: 03/06/1882 tillpos: 178.2 at: 21/06/1884 tillpos: 175.2 at: 26/08/1893 tillpos: 173.4 at: 06/07/1895 tillpos: 171.0 at: 28/08/1895 tillpos: 166.8 at: 27/05/1911 tillpos: 154.2 LineData= width: 0.2 color: orange at: 31/05/1913 tillpos: 163.2 at: 16/07/1915 tillpos: 157.8 at: 23/08/1923 tillpos: 151.2 at: 04/10/1931 tillpos: 147.6 at: 15/07/1933 tillpos: 142.8 at: 16/06/1934 tillpos: 140.4 at: 28/08/1937 tillpos: 139.2 at: 01/07/1942 tillpos: 138.6 at: 10/07/1942 tillpos: 138.6 at: 04/09/1942 tillpos: 133.8 at: 01/07/1943 tillpos: 127.8 at: 18/07/1944 tillpos: 124.8 at: 17/07/1945 tillpos: 124.2 at: 06/05/1954 tillpos: 118.2 at: 21/06/1954 tillpos: 114.0 at: 19/07/1957 tillpos: 111.6 at: 06/08/1958 tillpos: 103.5 at: 27/01/1962 tillpos: 103.2 at: 17/11/1964 tillpos: 102.3 at: 09/06/1965 tillpos: 100.8 at: 17/07/1966 tillpos: 93.9 at: 23/06/1967 tillpos: 93.3 at: 17/05/1975 tillpos: 93.0 at: 12/08/1975 tillpos: 88.2 at: 17/07/1979 tillpos: 87.0 at: 01/07/1980 tillpos: 86.4 at: 19/08/1981 tillpos: 85.59 at: 26/08/1981 tillpos: 85.2 at: 28/08/1981 tillpos: 81.99 at: 27/07/1985 tillpos: 78.96 at: 05/09/1993 tillpos: 73.17 at: 07/07/1999 tillpos: 69.39
Pre-IAAF
Professionals
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:28 | Charles Westhall | 26 July 1855 | London | |
| 4:28 | Thomas Horspool | 28 September 1857 | Manchester | |
| 4:23 | Thomas Horspool | 12 July 1858 | Manchester | |
| 4:22 | Siah Albison | 27 October 1860 | Manchester | |
| 4:21 | William Lang | 11 July 1863 | Manchester | |
| 4:20 | Edward Mills | 23 April 1864 | Manchester | |
| 4:20 | Edward Mills | 25 June 1864 | Manchester | |
| 4:17 | William Lang | 19 August 1865 | Manchester | |
| 4:17 | William Richards | 19 August 1865 | Manchester | |
| 4:16 | William Cummings | 14 May 1881 | Preston | |
| 4:12 | Walter George | 23 August 1886 | London |
Amateurs
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:55 | J. Heaviside | 1 April 1861 | Dublin | |
| 4:49 | 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 | London | |
| 4:24 | 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 | Cambridge | |
| 4:17 | Fred Bacon | 6 July 1895 | London | |
| 4:15 | Thomas Conneff | 28 August 1895 | New York City | |
| 4:15 | John Paul Jones | United States | 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 | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:52 | Cadet Marshall | 2 September 1852 | Addiscome | |
| 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. |access-date = August 4, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629134819/http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf |archive-date=June 29, 2011
| Pending ratification |
|---|
| Time | Auto | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:14.4 | John Paul Jones | United States | 31 May 1913 | Allston, Mass. | |||||||||
| 4:12.6 | Norman Taber | United States | 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 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=53AbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cksEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5029%2C1280308 | work=Pittsburgh Press | agency=United Press | last=McLemore | first=Henry | title=Epochal run breaks mark | date=July 16, 1933 | page=1, sports}} | Princeton, N.J. | |||
| 4:06.8 | Glenn Cunningham | United States | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=S-QcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=No4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5399%2C4684094 | work=Pittsburgh Press | agency=United Press | title=Cunningham and Eastman set world's records in mile, half-mile | date=June 17, 1934 | page=1, sports}} | Princeton, N.J. | ||||
| 4:06.4 | Sydney Wooderson | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_MoaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EkwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2250%2C829515 | work=Pittsburgh Press | agency=United Press | title=Wooderson cracks mile record mark | date=August 29, 1937 | page=1, sports}} | Motspur Park | |||||
| 4:06.2 | Gunder Hägg | 1 July 1942 | Gothenburg | ||||||||||
| 4:06.2 | 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 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tX5IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5GoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3296%2C1589926 | work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | agency=Associated Press | title=4-minute mile cracked by British speedster | date= 7 May 1954 | page=1}} | Oxford | |||||
| 3:58.0 | John Landy | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oZspAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TOYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1041%2C4074678 | work=Spokesman-Review | location=Spokane, Washington | agency=Associated Press | last=Haeggblom | first=Stig | title=Landy cracks mark in 3:58 | date=June 22, 1954 | page=14}} | Turku | ||
| 3:57.2 | Derek Ibbotson | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AX1AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rKMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5114%2C2484081 | work=Glasgow Herald | title=World mile record for Ibbotson | date=July 20, 1957 | page=5}} | London | ||||||
| 3:54.5 | Herb Elliott | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nxY1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=-qULAAAAIBAJ&pg=5950%2C4084097 | work=Glasgow Herald | title=Australian runner's mile record | date=August 7, 1958 | page=5}} | Dublin | ||||||
| 3:54.4 | Peter Snell | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2PpVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=z-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6793%2C4282218 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=Associated Press | title=Snell cracks Elloitt's mile record with clocking of 3:54.4 on grass | date=January 28, 1962 | page=1B}} | Wanganui | ||||
| 3:54.1 | 3:54.04 | Peter Snell (2) | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SP1VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6094%2C3357303 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=Associated Press | title=Snell snaps his own mile mark with 3:54.1 clocking | date=November 17, 1964 | page=3B}} | Auckland | |||
| 3:53.6 | Michel Jazy | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DvxVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NuMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5659%2C2109310 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=Associated Press | title=The record miles – and now 3:53.6! | date=June 10, 1965 | page=1D}} | Rennes | ||||
| 3:51.3 | Jim Ryun | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DudVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UOEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5470%2C3735494 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=Associated Press | title=Poles help Ryun with mile mark | date=July 18, 1966 | page=2B}} | Berkeley, Cal. | ||||
| 3:51.1 | Jim Ryun (2) | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0MxTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yDgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7191%2C6140153 | work=Lawrence Journal-World | location=Kansas | agency=Associated Press | title=Ryun writes 3:51.1 chapter to mile story | date=June 24, 1967 | page=10}} | Bakersfield, Cal. | ||||
| 3:51.0 | Filbert Bayi | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CtZVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_dcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6471%2C4726005 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=Associated Press | title=Bayi lowers mile mark to 3:51 | date=May 18, 1975 | page=1B}} | Kingston | ||||
| 3:49.4 | John Walker | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZK1VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=J-ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=2208%2C3288793 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=Associated Press | title=Walker's 3:49.4 "perfect race" | date=August 13, 1975 | page=1D}} | Gothenburg | ||||
| 3:49.0 | 3:48.95 | Sebastian Coe | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NYMyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YucFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6706%2C3984125 | work=Lawrence Journal-World | location=Kansas | agency=Associated Press | title='Nice air' Coe's only explanation for record mile | date=July 18, 1979 | page=24}} | Oslo | |||
| 3:48.8 | Steve Ovett | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MAtWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7eEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4640%2C473065 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=wire service reports | title=Coe loses world mile record to Ovett | date=July 2, 1980 | page=1D}} | Oslo | ||||
| 3:48.53 | Sebastian Coe (2) | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wB1OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UBMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3286%2C4266549 | work=Wilmington Morning Star | location=North Carolina | agency=Associated Press | title=Coe, Nehemiah set records | date=August 20, 1981 | page=1D}} | Zürich | ||||
| 3:48.40 | Steve Ovett (2) | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QhVWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VeIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6022%2C7552088 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=wire service reports | title=Ovett snaps mile record; Rono's back | date=August 27, 1981 | page=1C}} | Koblenz | ||||
| 3:47.33 | Sebastian Coe (3) | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z0tOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=du4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5395%2C5885774 | work=Spokesman-Review | location=Spokane, Washington | agency=Associated Press | title=Coe trims mile mark once again | date=August 29, 1981 | page=17}} | Brussels | ||||
| 3:46.32 | Steve Cram | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YO5VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g-EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6896%2C6326264 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=Associated Press | title=Three world track records fall at Oslo | date=July 28, 1985 | page=1B}} | Oslo | ||||
| 3:44.39 | Noureddine Morceli | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XEZWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=duoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6366%2C1419378 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=Associated Press | title=Morceli shatters mile record | date=September 6, 1993 | page=1D}} | Rieti | ||||
| 3:43.13 | Hicham El Guerrouj | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UlNWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vesDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6139%2C1966413 | work=Eugene Register-Guard | location=Oregon | agency=Associated Press | title=El Guerrouj breaks mile mark on 'miracle track' | date=July 8, 1999 | page=1D}} | Rome |
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 most recent world record setting race in 1999, Noah Ngeny came in second place to Hicham El Guerrouj with a time of 3:43.40, which continues to be the second fastest mile run in history, beating out the old world record set in 1993 by Noureddine Morceli. No-one else approached the record in the 21st century until September 16, 2023, when Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Yared Nuguse recorded the third and fourth fastest times in history, with 3:43.73 and 3:43.97 respectively.
Men's Indoor
Men Indoor Pre-IAAF
| Time | Auto | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:39.2 | Lawrence Myers | United States | April 25, 1885 | New York | |
| 4:39.2 | Ernest Hjertberg | United States | May 10, 1889 | New York | |
| 4:31.4 | William Day | United States | February 5, 1890 | Brooklyn | |
| 4:28.4 | Ernest Hjertberg | United States | February 13, 1892 | Boston | |
| 4:26.0 | Andrew Walsh | United States | November 30, 1895 | Brooklyn | |
| 4:25.2 | Melvin Sheppard | United States | January 26, 1906 | New York | |
| 4:23.8 | Melvin Sheppard | United States | March 30, 1906 | New York | |
| 4:19.8 | Herbert Trube | United States | February 13, 1909 | New York | |
| 4:19.8 | Oscar Hedlund | United States | February 22, 1912 | Troy | |
| 4:18.8 | Oscar Hedlund | United States | February 12, 1913 | New York | |
| 4:18.2 | Abel Kiviat | United States | February 15, 1913 | New York | |
| 4:16.0 | John Overton | United States | March 10, 1917 | Philadelphia | |
| 4:14.6 | Joseph Ray | United States | April 12, 1919 | Chicago | |
| 4:13.6 | Paavo Nurmi | January 6, 1925 | New York | ||
| 4:13.4 | Lloyd Hahn | United States | February 14, 1925 | New York | |
| 4:12.0 | Paavo Nurmi | March 7, 1925 | Buffalo | ||
| 4:12.0 | Joseph Ray | United States | March 17, 1925 | New York | |
| 4:11.2 | Gene Venzke | United States | February 6, 1932 | New York | |
| 4:10.0 | Gene Venzke | United States | February 17, 1932 | New York | |
| 4:09.8 | Glenn Cunningham | United States | March 25, 1933 | Chicago | |
| 4:08.4 | Glenn Cunningham | United States | March 17, 1934 | New York | |
| 4:04.4 | |||||
| oversized track | Glenn Cunningham | United States | March 3, 1938 | Hanover | |
| 4:07.4 | Glenn Cunningham | United States | March 12, 1938 | New York | |
| 4:07.4 | Charles Fenske | United States | February 3, 1940 | New York | |
| 4:07.4 | Charles Fenske | United States | February 17, 1940 | New York | |
| 4:07.4 | Leslie MacMitchell | United States | February 15, 1941 | New York | |
| 4:07.4 | Walter Mehl | United States | February 15, 1941 | New York | |
| 4:07.3 | Gilbert Dodds | United States | March 11, 1944 | New York | |
| 4:06.4 | Gilbert Dodds | United States | March 18, 1944 | Chicago | |
| 4:05.3 | Gilbert Dodds | United States | January 31, 1948 | New York | |
| 4:04.9 | Wes Santee | United States | February 15, 1954 | East Lansing | |
| 4:03.8 | Wes Santee | United States | January 29, 1955 | Boston | |
| 4:03.6 | Gunnar Nielsen | February 5, 1955 | New York | ||
| 4:03.4 | Ron Delany | March 14, 1958 | Chicago | ||
| 4:02.5 | Ron Delany | February 21, 1959 | New York | ||
| 4:01.4 | Ron Delany | March 7, 1959 | New York | ||
| 3:58.9 | Jim Beatty | February 10, 1962 | Los Angeles | ||
| 3:58.6 | Jim Beatty | February 15, 1963 | New York | ||
| 3:56.6 | Tom O'Hara | February 13, 1964 | New York | ||
| 3:56.4 | Tom O'Hara | March 6, 1964 | Chicago | ||
| 3:56.4 | Jim Ryun | February 19, 1971 | San Diego | ||
| 3:55.0 | Tony Waldrop | February 17, 1974 | San Diego | ||
| 3:55.0 | 3:54.93 | Dick Buerkle | January 13, 1978 | College Park | |
| 3:52.6 | Eamonn Coghlan | February 16, 1979 | San Diego | ||
| 3:50.6 | Eamonn Coghlan | February 20, 1981 | San Diego |
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 | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:49.78 | Eamonn Coghlan | February 27, 1983 | East Rutherford | |
| 3:48.45 | Hicham El Guerrouj | February 12, 1997 | Ghent | |
| 3:47.01 | Yomif Kejelcha | March 3, 2019 | Boston | |
| 3:46.63 | Yared Nuguse | February 8, 2025 | New York | |
| 3:45.14 | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | February 13, 2025 | Liévin |
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 | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:01.21 | Samuel Prakel | April 25, 2023 | Des Moines | ||
| 3:56.13 | Hobbs Kessler | October 1, 2023 | Riga | ||
| 3:54.6h | Emmanuel Wanyonyi | Kenya | April 27, 2024 | Herzogenaurach | |
| 3:51.3h | Elliot Giles | September 1, 2024 | Düsseldorf |
Women
The chart is clipped at 4:00 (240 seconds), and magnified by 3 (three pixels height equal 1 second) ImageSize = width:650 height:450 # The width can be changed without much harm (remember to change the PlotArea below too) PlotArea = width:600 height:430 left:25 bottom:20
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:1920 till:2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1920
Colors= id:grid value: gray(0.5)
LineData= width: 0.1 color: grid from: start till: end atpos: 30 from: start till: end atpos: 60 from: start till: end atpos: 90 from: start till: end atpos: 120 from: start till: end atpos: 150 from: start till: end atpos: 180 from: start till: 01/01/1980 atpos: 210 from: start till: 01/01/1980 atpos: 240 from: start till: 01/01/1980 atpos: 270 from: start till: end atpos: 300 from: start till: end atpos: 330 from: start till: end atpos: 360 from: start till: end atpos: 390 from: start till: end atpos: 420 TextData= pos:(0,30) text: "4:00" pos:(0,60) text: "4:10" pos:(0,90) text: "4:20" pos:(0,120) text: "4:30" pos:(0,150) text: "4:40" pos:(0,180) text: "4:50" pos:(0,210) text: "5:00" pos:(0,240) text: "5:10" pos:(0,270) text: "5:20" pos:(0,300) text: "5:30" pos:(0,330) text: "5:40" pos:(0,360) text: "5:50" pos:(0,390) text: "6:00" pos:(0,420) text: "6:10" pos:(0,450) text: "6:20"
TextData= fontsize: M pos:(520,250) textcolor: blue text: pre-IAAF pos:(520,220) textcolor: orange text: IAAF
LineData= width: 0.2 color: blue at: 24/06/1921 tillpos: 429.6 at: 20/08/1932 tillpos: 292.5 at: 01/06/1936 tillpos: 282 at: 18/07/1936 tillpos: 279 at: 08/06/1937 tillpos: 272 at: 22/07/1939 tillpos: 255.9 at: 14/06/1952 tillpos: 243 at: 04/06/1953 tillpos: 239.4 at: 12/09/1953 tillpos: 234 at: 30/09/1953 tillpos: 217.8 at: 01/11/1953 tillpos: 210.9 at: 26/05/1954 tillpos: 210.6 at: 29/05/1954 tillpos: 208.8 at: 24/05/1955 tillpos: 182.4 at: 21/09/1955 tillpos: 165.0 at: 08/12/1962 tillpos: 154.2 at: 13/05/1967 tillpos: 147.6
LineData= width: 0.2 color: orange at: 03/06/1967 tillpos: 141 at: 14/06/1969 tillpos: 140.4 at: 20/08/1971 tillpos: 135.9 at: 08/08/1973 tillpos: 118.5 at: 21/05/1977 tillpos: 101.4 at: 27/01/1979 tillpos: 96.3 at: 26/01/1980 tillpos: 95.1 at: 12/09/1981 tillpos: 92.67 at: 09/07/1982 tillpos: 84.24 at: 09/09/1982 tillpos: 82.32 at: 21/08/1985 tillpos: 80.13 at: 10/07/1989 tillpos: 76.83 at: 14/08/1996 tillpos: 67.68 at: 12/07/2019 tillpos: 66.99 at: 21/07/2023 tillpos: 52.92
Pre-IAAF
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:13.2 | 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 | Romania | 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. |access-date=August 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629134819/http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf |archive-date=June 29, 2011
| Time | Auto | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:37.0 | Anne Smith | 3 June 1967 | London | ||
| 4:36.8 | Maria Gommers | 14 June 1969 | Leicester | ||
| 4:35.3 | Ellen Tittel | 20 August 1971 | Sittard | ||
| 4:29.5 | Paola Pigni | 8 August 1973 | Viareggio | ||
| 4:23.8 | Natalia Mărășescu | Romania | 21 May 1977 | Bucharest | |
| 4:22.1 | 4:22.09 | Natalia Mărășescu | Romania | 27 January 1979 | Auckland |
| 4:21.7 | 4:21.68 | Mary Decker | 26 January 1980 | Auckland | |
| 4:20.89 | Lyudmila Veselkova | 12 September 1981 | Bologna | ||
| 4:18.08 | Mary Decker-Tabb | 9 July 1982 | Paris | ||
| 4:17.44 | Maricica Puică | Romania | 9 September 1982 | Rieti | |
| 4:16.71 | Mary Decker-Slaney | 21 August 1985 | Zürich | ||
| 4:15.61 | Paula Ivan | Romania | 10 July 1989 | Nice | |
| 4:12.56 | Svetlana Masterkova | 14 August 1996 | Zürich | ||
| 4:12.33 | Sifan Hassan | 12 July 2019 | Monaco | ||
| 4:07.64 | Faith Kipyegon | 21 July 2023 | Monaco | ||
| 4:06.42 | Faith Kipyegon | 26 June 2025 | Paris |
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.
The IAAF recognized times to the hundredth of a second starting in 1981.
Note:
- Decker ran 4:17.55 indoors in Houston on 16 February 1980, but this time was rejected as a record due to an oversized track.
- Natalya Artyomova (Soviet Union) ran 4:15.8 in Leningrad on 6 August 1984, but this time was rejected as a record due to there being no international judges.

Women's Indoor
Women Indoor Pre-IAAF
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:17.2 | Brenda Cook | February 5, 1966 | Cosford | |
| 5:03.6 | Joyce Smith | February 12, 1966 | Cosford | |
| 4:52.0 | Doris Brown | February 19, 1966 | Vancouver | |
| 4:40.4 | Doris Brown | February 18, 1967 | Vancouver | |
| 4:38.5 | Debbie Heald | March 17, 1972 | Richmond | |
| 4:35.6 | Francie Larrieu | February 17, 1973 | San Diego | |
| 4:34.6 | Francie Larrieu | February 2, 1974 | Seattle | |
| 4:29.0 | Francie Larrieu | February 15, 1975 | San Diego | |
| 4:28.5 | Francie Larrieu | March 3, 1975 | Richmond | |
| 4:24.6 | Mary Decker | January 22, 1982 | Los Angeles | |
| 4:21.47 | Mary Decker | February 12, 1982 | New York |
Women Indoor IAAF era
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:20.5 | Mary Decker | February 19, 1982 | San Diego | |
| 4:18.86 | Doina Melinte | February 13, 1988 | East Rutherford | |
| 4:17.14 | Doina Melinte | February 9, 1990 | East Rutherford | |
| 4:13.31 | Genzebe Dibaba | February 17, 2016 | Stockholm |
Road Women
IAAF Era
Note: 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). 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:
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:27.97 Wo | Nikki Hiltz | April 25, 2023 | Des Moines | |
| 4:20.98 Wo | Deribe Welteji | October 1, 2023 | Riga |
Notes
References
References
- "International Association of Athletics Federations". IAAF.
- "Mile run - women - senior - outdoor". World Athletics.
- Edward S. Sears. (8 June 2015). "Running Through the Ages, 2d ed.". McFarland.
- "World Mile Record Progression". Berkshire Sports.
- "Progression of world record times for males". sta.colostate.edu.
- McLemore, Henry. (July 16, 1933). "Epochal run breaks mark". Pittsburgh Press.
- (July 20, 1957). "World wondering how fast a man can run a mile". Eugene Register-Guard.
- (August 6, 1958). "Herb Elliott runs 3:54.5 world record mile". Eugene Register-Guard.
- Engel, Lou. (July 18, 1966). "Ryun's record performance thrills KU trach coaches". Lawrence Journal-World.
- (August 13, 1975). "Walker runs record 3:49.4 mile". Lawrence Journal-World.
- "IAAF World Records Progression". [[International Association of Athletics Federations]].
- "Hicham El Guerrouj sets a world record in the mile".
- "Progressions - Mile History".
- "Ratified: world road mile records for Hiltz and Prakel {{!}} PRESS-RELEASES {{!}} World Athletics".
- "Stats {{!}} World Athletics {{!}} World Athletics".
- "Stats {{!}} World Athletics {{!}} World Athletics".
- (21 March 2025). "Ratified: world records for Fisher, Giles and Nuguse".
- (21 July 2023). "Mile Run Results". sportresult.com.
- (26 June 2025). "Kipyegon runs one mile in 4:06.42 in Paris".
- "Stats {{!}} World Athletics {{!}} World Athletics".
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about Mile run world record progression — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report