Back الميل (سباق) Arabic Běh na 1 míli Czech 1-milløb (atletik) Danish Meilenlauf German 1 μίλι Greek Carrera de la milla Spanish Miilijooks Estonian دو یک مایل Persian Mailin juoksu Finnish Mile (athlétisme) French
| Athletics Mile run | |
|---|---|
 | |
| World records | |
| Men |  Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 3:43.13 (1999) |
| Women |  Faith Kipyegon (KEN) 4:07.64 (2023) |
| Short track world records | |
| Men |  Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) 3:47.01 (2019) |
| Women | Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 4:13.31 (2016) |
| World junior (U20) records | |
| Men | Reynold Cheruiyot (KEN) 3:48.06 (2023) |
| Women | Birke Haylom (ETH) 4:17.13 (2023) |
The mile run (1,760 yards[1] or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race.
The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races.[citation needed] It survived track and field's switch to metric distances in the 1900s and retained its popularity, with the chase for the four-minute mile in the 1950s a high point for the race.
In spite of the roughly equivalent 1500 metres race, which is used instead of the mile at the World Championships and Olympic Games and is sometimes referred as the foremost middle-distance track event in athletics, the mile run is present in all fields of athletics, and since 1976, it is the only imperial distance the World Athletics has on its books for official world records.[a]
Although the mile is not featured at any major championships, the Wanamaker Mile, Dream Mile, Emsley Carr Mile and Bowerman Mile races are among the foremost annual middle-distance races.
The current mile world record holders are Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco with a time of 3:43.13 and Faith Kipyegon of Kenya with the Women's record of 4:07.64.
The record for the fastest mile ever run on any terrain is held by Craig Wheeler, who ran a downhill mile in 1993 in a time of 3:24;[2] Wheeler's time is not an officially recognized record due to the downhill grade of the course he ran.
Despite being only 109.344 metres longer, the mile is distinctly different from its much more common 1500 metres counterpart. World record holder Hicham El Guerrouj considers the mile to be his more challenging event.[3]
“My favourite is 1500m. It’s part of my heart. I competed in it a lot and I know every metre of this race. The mile is completely different. If you are not strong physically and mentally, you cannot run it well.”
— Hicham El Guerrouj
- ^ It has always been customary to give horizontal distances in yards and vertical distances in feet
- ^ "Maniacs stand out a mile". The Independent. 20 July 1997. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "El Guerrouj: "Ingebrigtsen can break my records (but I'd rather he didn't!)"". AW. 6 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).