The world record in the mile run is the best mark set by a male or female runner in the
middle-distance track and field event. The IAAF 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 Svetlana Masterkova has the women's record of 4:12.56. Since 1976, the mile is
the only non-metric distance recognized by the IAAF for record purposes.
Accurate times for the mile run were not recorded until after 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 4:12¾ 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 just over four minutes while racing was curtailed during World War II in the combatant
countries. After the war, John Landy of Australia and Britain's Roger Bannister 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. By the end of the 20th century, the record
had been lowered to the time of 3:43.13 run by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1999.
On the women's side, the first sub-5:00 mile was achieved by Britain'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 Rosemary Smith of Britain ran 4:37.0. The current women's world record is 4:12.56
by Svetlana Masterkova of Russia, set on August 14, 1996.
Men
Professionals Amateurs
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 who
ran 4:36.5 in 1865, surpassed by Chinnery in 1868.
Another variation of the amateur record progression pre-1862 is as follows:
IAAF era The first world record in the mile for men
was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International
Association of Athletics Federations, in 1913. To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 32
world records in the event. 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.
Women Pre-IAAF
IAAF era The first world record in the mile for women
was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International
Association of Athletics Federations, in 1967. To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 13
world records in the event. The IAAF recognized times to the hundredth
of a second starting in 1981. Slaney ran 4:17.55 in Houston on 16 February
1980, and Natalya Artyomova ran 4:15.8 in Leningrad on 6 August 1984, but neither time
was ratified by the IAAF. See also
World record progression 1500 metres References
Further reading Bascomb, Neil. The Perfect Mile. Willow. ISBN 978-0-0071737-3-0.
Bryant, John. 3:59.4 The Quest To Break The Four Minute Mile. Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-0918003-3-8.
Nelson, Cordner; Quercetani, Roberto. The Milers. Tafnews Press. ISBN 0-911521-15-1.
Phillips, Bob. 3:59.4 The Quest For The Four-Minute Mile. Parrs Wood Press. ISBN 978-1-9031584-9-4.
External links Runner's World data
Running Times Magazine data Frankfurt University(Broken link)
Women's progression Another women's mile progression
Frankfurt University Clips of Banister's 4 minute mile
Video of current Men's world record by Hicham El Guerrouj