Mile run world record progression#Men's 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,{{cite web|url=http://iaaf.org/statistics/records/gender=M/allrecords/discipline=MILE/index.html |title=International Association of Athletics Federations |publisher=IAAF |access-date=2013-10-23}} while Faith Kipyegon has the women's record of 4:07.64.{{cite web|title=Mile run - women - senior - outdoor|url=https://worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/one-mile/outdoor/women/senior|publisher=World Athletics|access-date=23 July 2023}} 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.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} By the 19th century "pedestrianism", as it was called, had become extremely popular and the best times recorded in the period were by professionals.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} Even after professional foot racing died out, it was not until 1915 that the professional record of 4:12{{frac|3|4}} (set by Walter George in 1886) was surpassed by an amateur.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

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.{{cite book|author=Edward S. Sears|title=Running Through the Ages, 2d ed.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UMDeCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA261|date=8 June 2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-2086-2|pages=261–}}

Men

The chart is clipped at 3:20 (200 seconds), and magnified by 3 (three pixels height equal 1 second)

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Period = from:1850 till:2000

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from: start till: 01/01/1960 atpos: 210

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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"

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fontsize: M

pos:(520,250) textcolor: blue text: Amateurs

pos:(520,220) textcolor: red text: Professionals

pos:(520,190) textcolor: orange text: IAAF

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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: 14/05/1881 tillpos: 168.6

at: 23/08/1886 tillpos: 158.25

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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

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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
class="wikitable"
4:28	Charles Westhall	{{GBR}}	26 July 1855	London
4:28	Thomas Horspool	{{GBR}}	28 September 1857	Manchester
4:23	Thomas Horspool	{{GBR}}	12 July 1858	Manchester
4:22{{frac\|1\|4}}	Siah Albison	{{GBR}}	27 October 1860	Manchester
4:21{{frac\|3\|4}}	William Lang	{{GBR}}	11 July 1863	Manchester
4:20{{frac\|1\|2}}	Edward Mills	{{GBR}}	23 April 1864	Manchester
4:20	Edward Mills	{{GBR}}	25 June 1864	Manchester
4:17{{frac\|1\|4}}	William Lang	{{GBR}}	19 August 1865	Manchester
4:17{{frac\|1\|4}}	William Richards	{{GBR}}	19 August 1865	Manchester
4:16{{frac\|1\|5}}	William Cummings	{{GBR}}	14 May 1881	Preston
4:12{{frac\|3\|4}}	Walter George	{{GBR}}	23 August 1886	London

=Amateurs=

Time	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Venue
class="wikitable"
4:55	J. Heaviside	{{GBR\|1801}}	1 April 1861	Dublin
4:49	J. Heaviside	{{GBR\|1801}}	27 May 1861	Dublin
4:46	Matthew Greene	{{GBR\|1801}}	27 May 1861	Dublin
4:33	George Farran	{{GBR\|1801}}	23 May 1862	Dublin
4:29{{frac\|3\|5}}	Walter Chinnery	{{GBR\|1801}}	10 March 1868	Cambridge
4:28{{frac\|4\|5}}	Walter Gibbs	{{GBR\|1801}}	3 April 1868	London
4:28{{frac\|3\|5}}	Charles Gunton	{{GBR\|1801}}	31 March 1873	London
4:26{{frac\|0\|5}}	Walter Slade	{{GBR\|1801}}	30 May 1874	London
4:24{{frac\|1\|2}}	Walter Slade	{{GBR\|1801}}	1 June 1875	London
4:23{{frac\|1\|5}}	Walter George	{{GBR\|1801}}	16 August 1880	London
4:19{{frac\|2\|5}}	Walter George	{{GBR\|1801}}	3 June 1882	London
4:18{{frac\|2\|5}}	Walter George	{{GBR\|1801}}	21 June 1884	Birmingham
4:17{{frac\|4\|5}}	Thomas Conneff	{{GBR\|1801}}	26 August 1893	Cambridge
4:17{{frac\|0\|5}}	Fred Bacon	{{GBR\|1801}}	6 July 1895	London
4:15{{frac\|3\|5}}	Thomas Conneff	{{GBR\|1801}}	28 August 1895	New York City
4:15{{frac\|2\|5}}	John Paul Jones	{{Flag\|United States\|1908}}	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.{{cite web|url=http://www.berkshiresports.org/index.php?ID=milerecordprogression |title=World Mile Record Progression |publisher=Berkshire Sports |access-date=2011-09-04}}

Another variation of the amateur record progression pre-1862 is as follows:{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.colostate.edu/~jah/teach/st540/data/mile.info |title=Progression of world record times for males |work=sta.colostate.edu |access-date=2012-08-15}}

Time	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Venue
class="wikitable"
4:52	Cadet Marshall	{{GBR\|1801}}	2 September 1852	Addiscome
4:45	Thomas Finch	{{GBR\|1801}}	3 November 1858	Oxford
4:45	St. Vincent Hammick	{{GBR\|1801}}	15 November 1858	Oxford
4:40	Gerald Surman	{{GBR\|1801}}	24 November 1859	Oxford
4:33	George Farran	{{GBR\|1801}}	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.

{{cite web

|title = 12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009.

|url = http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf

|publisher = IAAF Media & Public Relations Department

|location = Monte Carlo

|pages = Pages 546, 549–50

|year = 2009

|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

}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"
style="width:10px;"\|	Ratified
style="width:10px; background:#fef6e7;"\|	Not ratified
style="width:10px; background:#fee7e6;"\|	Ratified but later rescinded
style="width:10px; background:#cef6f5;"\|	Pending ratification

Time	Auto	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Venue
class="wikitable"
4:14.4		John Paul Jones	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	31 May 1913	Allston, Mass.
4:12.6		Norman Taber	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	16 July 1915	Allston, Mass.
4:10.4		Paavo Nurmi	{{FIN}}	23 August 1923	Stockholm
4:09.2		Jules Ladoumègue	{{FRA}}	4 October 1931	Paris
4:07.6		Jack Lovelock	{{NZL}}	15 July 1933{{cite news \|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	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	16 June 1934{{cite news \|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	{{GBR}}	28 August 1937{{cite news \|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	{{SWE}}	1 July 1942	Gothenburg
4:06.2		Arne Andersson	{{SWE}}	10 July 1942	Stockholm
4:04.6		Gunder Hägg (2)	{{SWE}}	4 September 1942	Stockholm
4:02.6		Arne Andersson (2)	{{SWE}}	1 July 1943	Gothenburg
4:01.6		Arne Andersson (3)	{{SWE}}	18 July 1944	Malmö
4:01.4		Gunder Hägg (3)	{{SWE}}	17 July 1945	Malmö
3:59.4		Roger Bannister	{{GBR}}	6 May 1954{{cite news \|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	{{AUS}}	21 June 1954{{cite news \|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	{{GBR}}	19 July 1957{{cite news \|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}}{{cite news \|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JflVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sOIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6861%2C2838182 \|work=Eugene Register-Guard \|location=(Oregon) \|agency=Associated Press \|title=World wondering how fast a man can run a mile \|date=July 20, 1957 \|page=7}}	London
3:54.5		Herb Elliott	{{AUS}}	6 August 1958{{cite news \|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}}{{cite news \|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-PVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6635%2C818241 \|work=Eugene Register-Guard \|location=(Oregon) \|agency=Associated Press \|title=Herb Elliott runs 3:54.5 world record mile \|date=August 6, 1958 \|page=3B}}	Dublin
3:54.4		Peter Snell	{{NZL}}	27 January 1962{{cite news \|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)	{{NZL}}	17 November 1964{{cite news \|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	{{FRA}}	9 June 1965{{cite news \|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	{{USA}}	17 July 1966{{cite news \|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}}{{cite news \|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a81TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nTgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5022%2C1662238 \|work=Lawrence Journal-World \|location=(Kansas) \|last=Engel \|first=Lou \|title=Ryun's record performance thrills KU trach coaches \|date=July 18, 1966 \|page=10}}	Berkeley, Cal.
3:51.1		Jim Ryun (2)	{{USA}}	23 June 1967{{cite news \|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	{{TAN}}	17 May 1975{{cite news \|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	{{NZL}}	12 August 1975{{cite news \|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}}{{cite news \|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=u8IxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SuUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6904%2C1565008 \|work=Lawrence Journal-World \|location=(Kansas) \|agency=Associated Press \|title=Walker runs record 3:49.4 mile \|date=August 13, 1975 \|page=13}}	Gothenburg
3:49.0	3:48.95	Sebastian Coe	{{GBR}}	17 July 1979{{cite news \|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	{{GBR}}	1 July 1980{{cite news \|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)	{{GBR}}	19 August 1981{{cite news \|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)	{{GBR}}	26 August 1981{{cite news \|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)	{{GBR}}	28 August 1981{{cite news \|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	{{GBR}}	27 July 1985{{cite news \|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	{{ALG}}	5 September 1993{{cite news \|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	{{MAR}}	7 July 1999{{cite news \|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.{{cite web |url=http://iaaf-ebooks.s3.amazonaws.com/2015/Progression-of-IAAF-World-Records-2015/projet/IAAF-WRPB-2015.pdf |title=IAAF World Records Progression |edition=2015 |author1=Hymans, Richard |author2=Matrahazi, Imre |publisher=International Association of Athletics Federations |access-date=November 6, 2017}}{{rp|vii; 69–70}} 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.{{Citation |title=Hicham El Guerrouj sets a world record in the mile |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvCsj7eJKKA |language=en |access-date=2023-02-27}} 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
class="wikitable"
4:39.2		Lawrence Myers	{{Flag\|United States\|1877}}	April 25, 1885	New York {{USA}}
4:39.2		Ernest Hjertberg	{{Flag\|United States\|1877}}	May 10, 1889	New York {{USA}}
4:31.4		William Day	{{Flag\|United States\|1877}}	February 5, 1890	Brooklyn {{USA}}
4:28.4		Ernest Hjertberg	{{Flag\|United States\|1891}}	February 13, 1892	Boston {{USA}}
4:26.0		Andrew Walsh	{{Flag\|United States\|1896}}	November 30, 1895	Brooklyn {{USA}}
4:25.2		Melvin Sheppard	{{Flag\|United States\|1896}}	January 26, 1906	New York {{USA}}
4:23.8		Melvin Sheppard	{{Flag\|United States\|1896}}	March 30, 1906	New York {{USA}}
4:19.8		Herbert Trube	{{Flag\|United States\|1908}}	February 13, 1909	New York {{USA}}
4:19.8		Oscar Hedlund	{{Flag\|United States\|1908}}	February 22, 1912	Troy {{USA}}
4:18.8		Oscar Hedlund	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	February 12, 1913	New York {{USA}}
4:18.2		Abel Kiviat	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	February 15, 1913	New York {{USA}}
4:16.0		John Overton	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	March 10, 1917	Philadelphia {{USA}}
4:14.6		Joseph Ray	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	April 12, 1919	Chicago {{USA}}
4:13.6		Paavo Nurmi	{{FIN}}	January 6, 1925	New York {{USA}}
4:13.4		Lloyd Hahn	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	February 14, 1925	New York {{USA}}
4:12.0		Paavo Nurmi	{{FIN}}	March 7, 1925	Buffalo {{USA}}
4:12.0		Joseph Ray	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	March 17, 1925	New York {{USA}}
4:11.2		Gene Venzke	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	February 6, 1932	New York {{USA}}
4:10.0		Gene Venzke	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	February 17, 1932	New York {{USA}}
4:09.8		Glenn Cunningham	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	March 25, 1933	Chicago {{USA}}
4:08.4		Glenn Cunningham	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	March 17, 1934	New York {{USA}}
bgcolor=pink \|colspan=2\|4:04.4 oversized track	Glenn Cunningham	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	March 3, 1938	Hanover {{USA}}
4:07.4		Glenn Cunningham	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	March 12, 1938	New York {{USA}}
4:07.4		Charles Fenske	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	February 3, 1940	New York {{USA}}
4:07.4		Charles Fenske	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	February 17, 1940	New York {{USA}}
4:07.4		Leslie MacMitchell	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	February 15, 1941	New York {{USA}}
4:07.4		Walter Mehl	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	February 15, 1941	New York {{USA}}
4:07.3		Gilbert Dodds	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	March 11, 1944	New York {{USA}}
4:06.4		Gilbert Dodds	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	March 18, 1944	Chicago {{USA}}
4:05.3		Gilbert Dodds	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	January 31, 1948	New York {{USA}}
4:04.9		Wes Santee	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	February 15, 1954	East Lansing {{USA}}
4:03.8		Wes Santee	{{Flag\|United States\|1912}}	January 29, 1955	Boston {{USA}}
4:03.6		Gunnar Nielsen	{{DEN}}	February 5, 1955	New York {{USA}}
4:03.4		Ron Delany	{{IRL}}	March 14, 1958	Chicago {{USA}}
4:02.5		Ron Delany	{{IRL}}	February 21, 1959	New York {{USA}}
4:01.4		Ron Delany	{{IRL}}	March 7, 1959	New York {{USA}}
3:58.9		Jim Beatty	{{USA}}	February 10, 1962	Los Angeles {{USA}}
3:58.6		Jim Beatty	{{USA}}	February 15, 1963	New York {{USA}}
3:56.6		Tom O'Hara	{{USA}}	February 13, 1964	New York {{USA}}
3:56.4		Tom O'Hara	{{USA}}	March 6, 1964	Chicago {{USA}}
3:56.4		Jim Ryun	{{USA}}	February 19, 1971	San Diego {{USA}}
3:55.0		Tony Waldrop	{{USA}}	February 17, 1974	San Diego {{USA}}
3:55.0	3:54.93	Dick Buerkle	{{USA}}	January 13, 1978	College Park {{USA}}
3:52.6		Eamonn Coghlan	{{IRL}}	February 16, 1979	San Diego {{USA}}
3:50.6		Eamonn Coghlan	{{IRL}}	February 20, 1981	San Diego {{USA}}

=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.{{Cite web|url=https://bringbackthemile.com/history/progressions|title = Progressions - Mile History}}

Time	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Venue
class="wikitable"
3:49.78	Eamonn Coghlan	{{IRL}}	February 27, 1983	East Rutherford
3:48.45	Hicham El Guerrouj	{{MAR}}	February 12, 1997	Ghent
3:47.01	Yomif Kejelcha	{{ETH}}	March 3, 2019	Boston
bgcolor="#CEF6F5" \|3:46.63	Yared Nuguse	{{USA}}	February 8, 2025	New York
bgcolor="#CEF6F5" \|3:45.14 \|Jakob Ingebrigtsen \|{{NOR}} \|February 13, 2025 \|Liévin

Road Men

= 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.{{Cite web |title=Ratified: world road mile records for Hiltz and Prakel {{!}} PRESS-RELEASES {{!}} World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/ratified-world-road-mile-records-hiltz-prakel# |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=worldathletics.org}}{{Cite web |title=Stats {{!}} World Athletics {{!}} World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/records/certified-roadevents |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=worldathletics.org}}

Key:

h = hand-timed

Source:{{Cite web |title=Stats {{!}} World Athletics {{!}} World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/records/by-progression/217856?type=1 |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=worldathletics.org}}

Time	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Venue
class="wikitable"
4:01.21	Samuel Prakel	{{USA}}	April 25, 2023	Des Moines
3:56.13	Hobbs Kessler	{{USA}}	October 1, 2023	Riga
bgcolor="#CEF6F5" \|3:54.6h	Emmanuel Wanyonyi	{{Flag\|Kenya}}	April 27, 2024	Herzogenaurach
bgcolor="#CEF6F5" \|3:51.3h	Elliot Giles	{{GBR}}	September 1, 2024	Düsseldorf

Women

The chart is clipped at 4:00 (240 seconds), and magnified by 3 (three pixels height equal 1 second)

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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

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from: start till: end atpos: 330

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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

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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
class="wikitable"
6:13.2	Elizabeth Atkinson	{{GBR}}	24 June 1921	Manchester
5:27.5	Ruth Christmas	{{GBR}}	20 August 1932	London
5:24.0	Gladys Lunn	{{GBR}}	1 June 1936	Brentwood
5:23.0	Gladys Lunn	{{GBR}}	18 July 1936	London
5:20.8	Gladys Lunn	{{GBR}}	8 May 1937	Dudley
5:17.0	Gladys Lunn	{{GBR}}	7 August 1937	London
5:15.3	Evelyn Forster	{{GBR}}	22 July 1939	London
5:11.0	Anne Oliver	{{GBR}}	14 June 1952	London
5:09.8	Enid Harding	{{GBR}}	4 June 1953	London
5:08.0	Anne Oliver	{{GBR}}	12 September 1953	Consett
5:02.6	Diane Leather	{{GBR}}	30 September 1953	London
5:00.3	Edith Treybal	{{Flag\|Romania\|1952}}	1 November 1953	Timișoara
5:00.2	Diane Leather	{{GBR}}	26 May 1954	Birmingham
4:59.6	Diane Leather	{{GBR}}	29 May 1954	Birmingham
4:50.8	Diane Leather	{{GBR}}	24 May 1955	London
4:45.0	Diane Leather	{{GBR}}	21 September 1955	London
4:41.4	Marise Chamberlain	{{NZL}}	8 December 1962	Perth
4:39.2	Anne Smith	{{GBR}}	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.

{{cite web

|title=12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009.

|url=http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf

|publisher=IAAF Media & Public Relations Department

|location=Monte Carlo

|pages=Pages 546, 642

|year=2009

|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
class="wikitable"
4:37.0		Anne Smith	{{GBR}}	3 June 1967	London
4:36.8		Maria Gommers	{{NED}}	14 June 1969	Leicester
4:35.3		Ellen Tittel	{{FRG}}	20 August 1971	Sittard
4:29.5		Paola Pigni	{{ITA}}	8 August 1973	Viareggio
4:23.8		Natalia Mărășescu	{{Flag\|Romania\|1965}}	21 May 1977	Bucharest
4:22.1	4:22.09	Natalia Mărășescu	{{Flag\|Romania\|1965}}	27 January 1979	Auckland
4:21.7	4:21.68	Mary Decker	{{USA}}	26 January 1980	Auckland
4:20.89		Lyudmila Veselkova	{{URS}}	12 September 1981	Bologna
4:18.08		Mary Decker-Tabb	{{USA}}	9 July 1982	Paris
4:17.44		Maricica Puică	{{Flag\|Romania\|1965}}	9 September 1982	Rieti
4:16.71		Mary Decker-Slaney	{{USA}}	21 August 1985	Zürich
4:15.61		Paula Ivan	{{Flag\|Romania\|1965}}	10 July 1989	Nice
4:12.56		Svetlana Masterkova	{{RUS}}	14 August 1996	Zürich
4:12.33		Sifan Hassan	{{NED}}	12 July 2019	Monaco
bgcolor="#CEF6F5" \|4:07.64		Faith Kipyegon	{{KEN}}	21 July 2023{{cite web\|title=Mile Run Results\|url=https://livecache.sportresult.com/node/binaryData/ATH_PROD/MONACO2023/PDF_ATHW1MILE---DIAMOND---FNL-000100--_C73C1.PDF?h=4TUWNaAhaz6E9nRWFHTt/sCKsp4=/\|publisher=sportresult.com\|date=21 July 2023\|access-date=21 July 2023}}	Monaco

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
class="wikitable"
5:17.2	Brenda Cook	{{GBR}}	February 5, 1966	Cosford {{GBR}}
5:03.6	Joyce Smith	{{GBR}}	February 12, 1966	Cosford {{GBR}}
4:52.0	Doris Brown	{{USA}}	February 19, 1966	Vancouver {{CAN}}
4:40.4	Doris Brown	{{USA}}	February 18, 1967	Vancouver {{CAN}}
4:38.5	Debbie Heald	{{USA}}	March 17, 1972	Richmond {{USA}}
4:35.6	Francie Larrieu	{{USA}}	February 17, 1973	San Diego {{USA}}
4:34.6	Francie Larrieu	{{USA}}	February 2, 1974	Seattle {{USA}}
4:29.0	Francie Larrieu	{{USA}}	February 15, 1975	San Diego {{USA}}
4:28.5	Francie Larrieu	{{USA}}	March 3, 1975	Richmond {{USA}}
4:24.6	Mary Decker	{{USA}}	January 22, 1982	Los Angeles {{USA}}
4:21.47	Mary Decker	{{USA}}	February 12, 1982	New York {{USA}}

=Women Indoor IAAF era=

Time	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Venue
class="wikitable"
4:20.5	Mary Decker	{{USA}}	February 19, 1982	San Diego {{USA}}
4:18.86	Doina Melinte	{{ROU}}	February 13, 1988	East Rutherford {{USA}}
4:17.14	Doina Melinte	{{ROU}}	February 9, 1990	East Rutherford {{USA}}
4:13.31	Genzebe Dibaba	{{ETH}}	February 17, 2016	Stockholm {{SWE}}

Road Women

= IAAF Era =

Key:

Wo = Women Only Race

Source:{{Cite web |title=Stats {{!}} World Athletics {{!}} World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/records/by-progression/218811?type=1 |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=worldathletics.org}}

Time	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Venue
class="wikitable"
4:27.97 Wo	Nikki Hiltz	{{USA}}	April 25, 2023	Des Moines
4:20.98 Wo	Deribe Welteji	{{ETH}}	October 1, 2023	Riga

References

External links

[http://www.stat.colostate.edu/~jah/teach/st540/data/mile.info Runner's World data]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080329011913/http://runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=6385 Running Times Magazine data]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20090607005109/http://user.uni-frankfurt.de/~khg/Rekorde/progtkwm.htm Frankfurt University] {{in lang|de}} (Internet Archive)
[http://www.apulanta.fi/matti/yu/wrprogr_Women.html#Mile Women's progression]
[http://www.saunalahti.fi/~sut/eng/wwrrun.html#mile Another women's mile progression]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20090829134934/http://user.uni-frankfurt.de/~khg/Rekorde/progtkww.htm Frankfurt University (Women's progression)] {{in lang|de}} (Internet Archive)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz3ZLpCmKCM Clips of Bannister's 4 minute mile]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvCsj7eJKKA Video of current Men's world record by Hicham El Guerrouj]

Category:World athletics record progressions

Category:Mile (athletics)

Mile run world record progression#Men's record progression

Men

= Pre-IAAF =

=Professionals=

=Amateurs=

=IAAF / World Athletics era =

Men's Indoor

=Men Indoor Pre-IAAF=

=Men Indoor IAAF era=

Road Men

= IAAF Era =

Women

= Pre-IAAF =

=Women's IAAF era=

Women's Indoor

=Women Indoor Pre-IAAF=

=Women Indoor IAAF era=

Road Women

= IAAF Era =

See also

References

Further reading

External links