Accurate times for the mile run (1.609344 km) 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 very popular.
The best times recorded in the 19th century were by professionals. Even after professional foot racing died out, it was not until 1915 that the professional record of 4:12¾ set by Walter George in 1886 was beaten 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 (4:01.4) while racing was curtailed in the combatant countries due to World War II. After the war, it was John Landy of Australia and Britain's Roger Bannister who took up the challenge of being the first to break the fabled four minute mile barrier. Bannister did it first, and Landy did it 46 days later. By the end of the 20th century, the record had been lowered to 3:43.13, by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1999.[1]
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. But the IAAF 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.
Since 1976, the mile is the only non-metric distance recognized by the IAAF for record purposes.
The number of high-quality races over the distance is few in recent years as most major international meets concentrate on the "metric mile" distance of 1,500 m (0.932 miles).
Contents |
Men's record progression
Professionals
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:28 | Charles Westhall | United Kingdom | 26 July 1852 | London |
| 4:28 | Thomas Horspool | United Kingdom | 28 September 1857 | Manchester |
| 4:23 | Thomas Horspool | United Kingdom | 12 July 1858 | Manchester |
| 4:22 1/4 | Siah Albison | United Kingdom | 27 October 1860 | Manchester |
| 4:21 3/4 | William Lang | United Kingdom | 11 July 1863 | Manchester |
| 4:20 1/2 | Edward Mills | United Kingdom | 23 April 1864 | Manchester |
| 4:20 | Edward Mills | United Kingdom | 25 June 1864 | Manchester |
| 4:17 1/4 | William Lang | United Kingdom | 19 August 1865 | Manchester |
| 4:17 1/4 | William Richards | United Kingdom | 19 August 1865 | Manchester |
| 4:16 1/5 | William Cummings | United Kingdom | 14 May 1881 | Preston |
| 4:12 3/4 | Walter George | United Kingdom | 23 August 1886 | London |
Amateurs
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:55 | J. Heaviside | United Kingdom | 1 April 1861 | Dublin |
| 4:49 | J. Heaviside | United Kingdom | 27 May 1861 | Dublin |
| 4:46 | Matthew Greene | United Kingdom | 27 May 1861 | Dublin |
| 4:33 | George Farran | United Kingdom | 23 May 1862 | Dublin |
| 4:29 3/5 | Walter Chinnery | United Kingdom | 10 March 1868 | Cambridge |
| 4:28 4/5 | Walter Gibbs | United Kingdom | 3 April 1868 | London |
| 4:28 3/5 | Charles Gunton | United Kingdom | 31 March 1873 | London |
| 4:26 0/5 | Walter Slade | United Kingdom | 30 May 1874 | London |
| 4:24 1/2 | Walter Slade | United Kingdom | 1 June 1875 | London |
| 4:23 1/5 | Walter George | United Kingdom | 16 August 1880 | London |
| 4:19 2/5 | Walter George | United Kingdom | 3 June 1882 | London |
| 4:18 2/5 | Walter George | United Kingdom | 21 June 1884 | Birmingham |
| 4:17 4/5 | Thomas Conneff | United States | 26 August 1893 | Cambridge, Mass. |
| 4:17 0/5 | Fred Bacon | United Kingdom | 6 July 1895 | London |
| 4:15 3/5 | Thomas Conneff | United States | 28 August 1895 | New York |
| 4:15 2/5 | John Paul Jones | United States | 27 May 1911 | Cambridge, Mass. |
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.[2]
Another variation of the amateur record progression pre-1862 is as follows[3]:
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:52 | Cadet Marshall | United Kingdom | 2 September 1852 | Addiscome |
| 4:45 | Thomas Finch | United Kingdom | 3 November 1858 | Oxford |
| 4:45 | St. Vincent Hammick | United Kingdom | 15 November 1858 | Oxford |
| 4:40 | Gerald Surman | United Kingdom | 24 November 1859 | Oxford |
| 4:33 | George Farran | United Kingdom | 23 May 1862 | Dublin |
IAAF era
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:14 2/5 | John Paul Jones | United States | 31 May 1913 | Allston, Mass. |
| 4:12 3/5 | Norman Taber | United States | 16 July 1915 | Allston, Mass. |
| 4:10.4 | Paavo Nurmi | Finland | 23 August 1923 | Stockholm |
| 4:09.2 | Jules Ladoumègue | France | 4 October 1931 | Paris |
| 4:07.6 | Jack Lovelock | New Zealand | 15 July 1933 | Princeton, N.J. |
| 4:06.7* | Glenn Cunningham | United States | 16 June 1934 | Princeton, N.J. |
| 4:06.4 | Sydney Wooderson | United Kingdom | 28 August 1937 | Motspur Park |
| 4:06.1* | Gunder Hägg | Sweden | 1 July 1942 | Göteborg |
| 4:06.2 | Arne Andersson | Sweden | 10 July 1942 | Stockholm |
| 4:04.6 | Gunder Hägg | Sweden | 4 September 1942 | Stockholm |
| 4:02.6 | Arne Andersson | Sweden | 1 July 1943 | Göteborg |
| 4:01.6 | Arne Andersson | Sweden | 18 July 1944 | Malmö |
| 4:01.3* | Gunder Hägg | Sweden | 17 July 1945 | Malmö |
| 3:59.4 | Roger Bannister | United Kingdom | 6 May 1954 | Oxford |
| 3:57.9* | John Landy | Australia | 21 June 1954 | Turku |
| 3:57.2 | Derek Ibbotson | United Kingdom | 19 July 1957 | London |
| 3:54.5 | Herb Elliott | Australia | 6 August 1958 | Santry, Dublin |
| 3:54.4 | Peter Snell | New Zealand | 27 January 1962 | Wanganui |
| 3:54.03* | Peter Snell | New Zealand | 17 November 1964 | Auckland |
| 3:53.6 | Michel Jazy | France | 9 June 1965 | Rennes |
| 3:51.3 | Jim Ryun | United States | 17 July 1966 | Berkeley, Cal. |
| 3:51.1 | Jim Ryun | United States | 23 June 1967 | Bakersfield, Cal. |
| 3:51.0 | Filbert Bayi | Tanzania | 17 May 1975 | Kingston |
| 3:49.4 | John Walker | New Zealand | 12 August 1975 | Göteborg |
| 3:48.95* | Sebastian Coe | United Kingdom | 17 July 1979 | Oslo |
| 3:48.8 | Steve Ovett | United Kingdom | 1 July 1980 | Oslo |
| 3:48.53 | Sebastian Coe | United Kingdom | 19 August 1981 | Zürich |
| 3:48.40 | Steve Ovett | United Kingdom | 26 August 1981 | Koblenz |
| 3:47.33 | Sebastian Coe | United Kingdom | 28 August 1981 | Bruxelles |
| 3:46.32 | Steve Cram | United Kingdom | 27 July 1985 | Oslo |
| 3:44.39 | Noureddine Morceli | Algeria | 5 September 1993 | Rieti |
| 3:43.13[4] | Hicham El Guerrouj | Morocco | 7 July 1999 | Rome |
Asterisks indicate actual times run. The IAAF ratified rounded times in these cases.
Over the decades, the IAAF has had evolving rules on rounding times when ratifying records. Into the 1950s, times were rounded up to the nearest 0.2 of a second, as most races were timed with manual stopwatches. Into the 1960s, as electronic timing started to become more widespread, records were rounded to the nearest 0.1 of a second. This was further refined in 1981 to the current level of accuracy, to 0.01 of a second.
Thus, Cunningham's 4:06.7, Hägg's 4:06.1 and 4:01.3, Landy's 3:57.9, Snell's 3:54.03 and Coe's 3:48.95 were ratified by the IAAF as 4:06.8, 4:06.2, 4:01.4, 3:58.0, 3:54.1 and 3:49.0 respectively.
Women's record progression
The IAAF started to recognize women's records in the mile after 1967.
Pre-IAAF
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:13.2 | Elizabeth Atkinson | United Kingdom | 24 June 1921 | Manchester |
| 5:27.5 | Ruth Christmas | United Kingdom | 20 August 1932 | London |
| 5:24.0 | Gladys Lunn | United Kingdom | 1 June 1936 | Brentwood |
| 5:23.0 | Gladys Lunn | United Kingdom | 18 July 1936 | London |
| 5:20.8 | Gladys Lunn | United Kingdom | 8 May 1937 | Dudley |
| 5:17.0 | Gladys Lunn | United Kingdom | 7 August 1937 | London |
| 5:15.3 | Evelyn Forster | United Kingdom | 22 July 1939 | London |
| 5:11.0 | Anne Oliver | United Kingdom | 14 June 1952 | London |
| 5:09.8 | Enid Harding | United Kingdom | 4 June 1953 | London |
| 5:08.0 | Anne Oliver | United Kingdom | 12 September 1953 | Consett |
| 5:02.6 | Diane Leather | United Kingdom | 30 September 1953 | London |
| 5:00.3 | Edith Treybal | Romania | 1 November 1953 | Timisoara |
| 5:00.2 | Diane Leather | United Kingdom | 26 May 1954 | Birmingham |
| 4:59.6 | Diane Leather | United Kingdom | 29 May 1954 | Birmingham |
| 4:50.8 | Diane Leather | United Kingdom | 24 May 1955 | London |
| 4:45.0 | Diane Leather | United Kingdom | 21 September 1955 | London |
| 4:41.4 | Marise Chamberlain | New Zealand | 8 December 1962 | Perth |
| 4:39.2 | Anne Rosemary Smith | United Kingdom | 13 May 1967 | London |
IAAF era
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:37.0 | Anne Rosemary Smith | United Kingdom | 3 June 1967 | London |
| 4:36.8 | Maria Gommers | Netherlands | 14 June 1969 | Leicester |
| 4:35.3 | Ellen Tittel | West Germany | 20 August 1971 | Sittard |
| 4:34.9+ | Glenda Reiser | Canada | 6 July 1973 | Victoria |
| 4:29.5 | Paola Cacchi | Italy | 8 August 1973 | Viareggio |
| 4:23.8 | Natalia Marasescu | Romania | 21 May 1977 | Bucharest |
| 4:22.09* | Natalia Marasescu | Romania | 27 January 1979 | Auckland |
| 4:21.68* | Mary Slaney | United States | 26 January 1980 | Auckland |
| 4:20.89 | Lyudmila Veselkova | Soviet Union | 12 September 1981 | Bologna |
| 4:18.08 | Mary Slaney | United States | 9 July 1982 | Paris |
| 4:17.44 | Maricica Puica | Romania | 9 September 1982 | Rieti |
| 4:16.71 | Mary Slaney | United States | 21 August 1985 | Zürich |
| 4:15.61 | Paula Ivan | Romania | 10 July 1989 | Nice |
| 4:12.56 | Svetlana Masterkova | Russia | 14 August 1996 | Zürich |
+ - indicates time not ratified by the IAAF. Actual times run are noted above. Those times with an asterisk were not the times ratified by the IAAF. Marasescu's 4:22.09 was ratified as 4:22.1. Slaney's 4:21.68 was initially ratified as 4:21.7 until the IAAF recognized times to the hundredth of a second from 1 May 1981.
Mary Slaney ran 4:17.55 in Houston on 16 February 1980, and Natalya Artyomova (Soviet Union) ran 4:15.8 in Leningrad on 6 August 1984, but neither time was ratified by the IAAF.
References
- ^ IAAF International Association of Athletics Federations - IAAF.org - Statistics - Records
- ^ Berkshire Sports - World Mile Record Progression
- ^ http://www.stat.colostate.edu/~jah/teach/st540/data/mile.info
- ^ iaaf.org - King of Middle Distance, Hicham El Guerrouj retires
See also
World record progression 1500 metres
Further reading
- Cordner Nelson and Roberto Quercetani, The Milers, Tafnews Press, 1985, ISBN 0-911521-15-1
- Bascomb Neal, "The Perfect Mile", Houghton Mifflin, 2004, ISBN 0-618391-12-6
External links
- Runner's World data
- Running Times Magazine data
- Frankfurt University (German)
- Women's progression
- Another women's mile progression
- Frankfurt University (Women's progression) (German)
- Clips of Banister's 4 minute mile
- Video of current Men's world record by Hicham El Guerrouj
Categories: Athletics (track and field) record progressions | Sports world records
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