Josh Kerr breaks 27-year-old mile world record with 3:42.66 at London Diamond League

The race

Josh Kerr crossed the line in 3:42.66 at the London Diamond League on Saturday, breaking Hicham El Guerrouj's 1999 world record of 3:43.13 by 0.47 seconds. The 60,000-capacity London Stadium erupted as the 28-year-old Scot became the seventh British man to hold the mile record. Kerr passed 800 metres in 1:51.1 and clocked a 1500m split of 3:27.62, faster than his own British record. Pacemakers Brannon Kidder and Zan Rudolf, the latter a last-minute replacement, set the tempo. American Yared Nuguse finished second, three seconds back, with Britain's Jake Heyward third.

I knew I had it in the first 400m because my pacemakers did an incredible job.

Project 222

Kerr announced his record attempt in March, branding it Project 222, the number of seconds needed for 3:42. He trained at altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his parents living with him for five weeks to provide support. Brooks crafted custom spikes and an aerodynamically tested speed suit after VO2-max and perception testing. His regimen included ice baths lasting exactly 222 seconds. Coach Danny Mackey said the team monitored whether anyone else broke the record before July 18. Kerr shaved almost three seconds off his previous personal best of 3:45.34 and received a $50,000 cheque for the record.

The mantra in the first two months of this project was that we're not chasing world records, we're creating the conditions where world records become inevitable.

British mile legacy

Kerr joins Roger Bannister, Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram as British mile world record holders. Bannister first broke the four-minute barrier in 1954; Coe and Ovett traded the record three times in 10 days in 1981; Cram was the last Briton to hold it, in 1985. Kerr said Bannister's feat was his primary inspiration. Lord Coe, now World Athletics president, attended the meet, while Cram was on commentary. Kerr, who was one year old when El Guerrouj set the previous mark, said he needed a record to stand alongside those legends.

I'm following in the footsteps of the giants and to be able to bring that back here and back home in London, with the likes of Lord Coe in here and the likes of Crammy in here, that's all I can do for the sport.

Hodgkinson returns to winning ways

In the same meeting, Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson won the women's 800m in 1:56.21, holding off Dutch athlete Femke Broeders-Bol. Hodgkinson had endured back-to-back second-place finishes and a fall earlier in the outdoor season. She described the period as "a tough couple of weeks" and said she was happy to win in front of a home crowd. Kerr praised her resilience, calling her ability to handle pressure and win consistently "incredible".

Even if you're not happy with today — I don't know how — to be able to do that at your age and win consistently — we are so lucky to have athletes consistently showing up.