Mile run

For the tributary stream, see Mile Run (New Jersey).
Gunder Hägg (right) defeats Arne Andersson with a world record for the mile of 4:06.2 min in Gothenburg in 1942.

The mile run (5,280 feet or exactly 1,609.344 metres, but considered by the IAAF to be 1,609.32 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. 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, the mile run is present in all fields of athletics and it remains the only imperial distance for which the IAAF records an official world record. Although the mile does not feature at any major championship competition, the Wanamaker Mile and Dream Mile races are among the foremost annual middle-distance races indoors and outdoors, respectively.

The current mile world record holders are Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj with 3:43.13 and Svetlana Masterkova of Russia with the women's record of 4:12.56.

History

The distance of the English mile gained its current definition of 5,280 feet through a statute of the Parliament of England in 1593.[1] Thus, the history of the mile run began in England and it initially found usage within the wagered running contests of the 18th and 19th century. Such contests would attract large numbers of spectators and gamblers – so many that the activity became a professional one for its more-established participants.[2]

The mile run was at the heart of the divide between professional and amateur sports in the late 19th century. Separate world record categories were kept for amateurs and professionals, with professional runners providing the faster times. High profile contests between Britons William Cummings and Walter George brought much publicity to the sport, as did George's races against the American Lon Myers. The mile run was also one of the foremost events at the amateur AAA Championships.[2] The categories remained distinct but the respective rise in amateurism and decline of the professional sector saw the division become irrelevant in the 20th century.

A statue commemorating Roger Bannister and John Landy's Miracle Mile in 1954.

The mile run continued to be a popular distance in spite of the metrication of track and field and athletics in general. It was the 1500 metres – sometimes referred to as the metric mile – which was featured on the Olympic athletics programme. The International Amateur Athletics Federation formed in 1912 and ratified the first officially recognised world record in the mile the following year (4:14.4 minutes run by John Paul Jones).[3] The fact that the mile run was the only imperial distance to retain its official world record status after 1970 reflects its continued popularity in the international (and principally metric) era.[4]

The top men's middle distance runners continued to compete in the mile run in the first half of the 1900s – Paavo Nurmi, Jack Lovelock and Sydney Wooderson were all world record holders over the distance.[3] In the 1940s, Swedish runners Gunder Hägg and Arne Andersson pushed times into a new territory, as they set three world records each during their rivalry over the decade.[5] The act of completing a sub-four-minute mile sparked further interest in the distance in the 1950s. Englishman Roger Bannister became the first person to achieve the feat in May 1954 and his effort, conducted with the help of Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway, was a key moment in the rise of the use of pacemakers at the top level of the sport – an aspect which is now commonplace at non-championship middle and long-distance races.[6][7]

Augustine Choge running the Dream Mile in Oslo in 2008.

The 1960s saw American Jim Ryun set world records near the 3:50-minute mark and his achievements popularised interval workout techniques.[5] From this period onwards, African runners began to emerge, breaking the largely white, Western dominance of the distance. Kenya's Kip Keino won the mile at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (which was among the last mile races to be held at a major multi-sport event).[8] Filbert Bayi of Tanzania became Africa's first world record holder over the distance in 1975, although New Zealander John Walker broke the record further a few months later to become the first man under 3:50 minutes for the event. The 1980s was highlighted by the rivalry between British runners Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, who improved the record five times between them, including two records at the Oslo Dream Mile race. Noureddine Morceli brought the mile record back into African hands in 1993 and Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj set the current record of 3:43.13, which has stood since 1999.[3]

Mile run contests remain a key feature of many annual track and field meetings, with long-running series such as the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games, Dream Mile at the Bislett Games, the British Emsley Carr Mile, and the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic being among the most prominent. Aside from track races, mile races are also occasionally contested in cross country running and mile runs on the road include the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City

Records

Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj (left) is the world record holder indoors and out.

Outdoor

Area Men's Women's
Time Athlete Time Athlete
World 3:43.13  Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 4:12.56  Svetlana Masterkova (RUS)
Continental records
Africa 3:43.13  Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 4:18.23  Gelete Burka (ETH)
Asia 3:47.97  Daham Najim Bashir (QAT) 4:17.75  Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)
Europe 3:46.32  Steve Cram (GBR) 4:12.56  Svetlana Masterkova (RUS)
North, Central America
and Caribbean 		3:46.91  Alan Webb (USA) 4:16.71  Mary Slaney (USA)
Oceania 3:48.98  Craig Mottram (AUS) 4:22.66  Lisa Corrigan (AUS)
South America 3:51.05  Hudson de Souza (BRA) 4:30.05  Soraya Vieira Telles (BRA)

Indoor

Area Men's Women's
Time Athlete Time Athlete
World 3:48.45  Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 4:17.14  Doina Melinte (ROM)
Continental records
Africa 3:48.45  Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 4:23.33  Kutre Dulecha (ETH)
Asia 3:57.05  Mohamed Suleiman (QAT) 4:24.71  Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)
Europe 3:49.78  Eamonn Coghlan (IRL) 4:17.14  Doina Melinte (ROM)
North, Central America
and Caribbean 		3:49.89  Bernard Lagat (USA) 4:20.5  Mary Slaney (USA)
Oceania 3:51.46  Nick Willis (NZL) 4:24.14  Kim Smith (NZL)
South America 3:56.26  Hudson de Souza (BRA) 4:42.24  Valentina Medina (VEN)

All-time top ten

Steve Cram's former world record set in 1985 still makes him the fourth fastest ever.

Men

Rank Time Athlete Nation Date Location Ref
1 3:43.13 Hicham El Guerrouj  Morocco 7 June 1999 Golden Gala
2 3:43.40 Noah Ngeny  Kenya 7 June 1999 Golden Gala
3 3:44.39 Noureddine Morceli  Algeria 5 September 1993 Rieti Meeting
4 3:46.32 Steve Cram  Great Britain 27 July 1985 Bislett Games
5 3:46.38 Daniel Komen  Kenya 28 August 1998 ISTAF Berlin
6 3:46.70 Vénuste Niyongabo  Burundi 28 August 1998 ISTAF Berlin
7 3:46.76 Saïd Aouita  Morocco 2 July 1987 Helsinki
8 3:46.91 Alan Webb  United States 21 July 2007 Brasschaat
9 3:47.28 Bernard Lagat  Kenya 29 June 2001 Golden Gala
10 3:47.32 Ayanleh Souleiman  Djibouti 31 May 2014 Prefontaine Classic [10]

Women

Ireland's Sonia O'Sullivan is the sixth fastest woman over the mile.
Rank Time Athlete Nation Date Location Ref
1 4:12.56 Svetlana Masterkova  Russia 14 August 1996 Weltklasse Zürich
2 4:15.61 Paula Ivan  Romania 10 July 1989 Nice
3 4:15.8 Natalya Artyomova  Soviet Union 5 August 1984 Leningrad
4 4:16.71 Mary Slaney  United States 21 August 1985 Weltklasse Zürich
5 4:17.14 i Doina Melinte  Romania 9 February 1990 East Rutherford
6 4:17.25 Sonia O'Sullivan  Ireland 22 July 1994 Bislett Games
7 4:17.33 Maricica Puica  Romania 21 August 1985 Weltklasse Zürich
8 4:17.57 Zola Budd  Great Britain 21 August 1985 Weltklasse Zürich
9 4:17.75 Maryam Yusuf Jamal  Bahrain 14 September 2007 Memorial van Damme
10 4:18.23 Gelete Burka  Ethiopia 7 September 2008 Rieti Meeting

Youth age records

Key

       Incomplete information

Boys

Age Time Athlete Nation Birthdate Date Location Ref
5 6:33.3 Daniel Skandera  United States 2 November 2007 23 July 2013 Santa Rosa
6 6:29.9 Joe O'Connor  United States 1973 [12]
7
5:53.0 Kevin Knox  United States 16 December 1959 23 September 1967 Wasco
5:29.9 Mike McKinney  United States 19 September 1971 Silver Spring
8
5:36.6 Mike Assumma  United States 30 August 1963 3 June 1972 Bakersfield
5:33.1 Darren O’Dell  United States 9 June 1972 Roseville
9 5:19.1i Mike Assumma  United States 30 August 1963 24 February 1973 Los Angeles
10 5:05.3 Nehemiah Skandera  United States 25 November 2002 23 July 2013 Santa Rosa
11 4:50.2 Charles Assuma  United States 3 March 1961[13] 27 January 1973 Silver Spring
12 4:43.78 Ryan Silva  United States 27 June 1995 31 May 2008 Portland
13 4:29.0 Andrew Barnett  United Kingdom 22 June 1955 1 June 1969 London
14 4:19.73 Ryan Silva  United States 27 June 1995 12 June 2010 Portland
15 4:08.8 Jim Arriola  United States 10 June 1958 22 April 1972 Long Beach
16
4:06.7 Barrie Williams  United States 9 November 1955 22 April 1972 Arcadia
4:00.84 Abdalla Abdelgadir  Sudan 1987 15 August 2003 Dublin [14]
17 3:50.90 Hamza Driouch  Qatar 16 November 1994 7 June 2012 Oslo [15]
18 3:49.77 Caleb Ndiku  Kenya 9 October 1992 4 June 2011 Eugene [16]
19 3:49.29 William Biwott Tanui  Kenya 5 March 1990 3 July 2009 Oslo [17]

Girls

Age Time Athlete Nation Birthdate Date Location Ref
7 6:05.1 Kristina Wilson  United States 5 December 1963 5 June 1971
8 5:59.1 Anne Berry  United States 23 August 1963 30 July 1972
9 5:32.2 Renee Quigley  United States 28 December 1960 6 December 1970
10
5:17.1 Renee Quigley  United States 28 December 1960 23 October 1971
5:14.7 Sandra Beach  United States 25 March 1973
11
5:07.8 Sydney Tullai  United States 1 February 1999 22 January 2011 Downey
5:00.1 Davida Jackson  United States 12 June 1977
12
4:57.51i Claudia Francis  United States 14 November 1993 12 March 2006 New York
4:54.4 Carol Lantry  United States 22 May 1976
13 4:48.8 Katharina Denz   Switzerland 9 September 1963 12 June 1977 Los Angeles
14 4:40.1 i Mary Decker  United States 4 August 1958 16 March 1973 Richmond
15 4:36.0 Gunvor Hilde  Norway 13 November 1963 14 September 1979 London
16 4:28.25i Mary Cain  United States 3 May 1996 16 February 2013 New York
17 4:24.11i Mary Cain  United States 3 May 1996 24 Jan 2014 Boston
18 4:24.10i Kalkidan Gezahegne  Ethiopia 8 May 1991 20 February 2010 Birmingham
19 4:17.57 Zola Budd  United Kingdom 26 May 1966 21 Aug 1985 Zurich

References

  1. ↑ Mile (unit of measurement). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved on 2011-06-12.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bryant, John (2005). 3:59.4: The Quest to Break the 4 Minute Mile. Random House. ISBN 9780099469087.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook (p. 546, 549–50). IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-06-12.
  4. ↑ World Outdoor Records. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-06-12.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mile - Introduction. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-06-12.
  6. ↑ 1954: Bannister breaks four-minute mile. BBC On This Day. Retrieved on 2011-06-12.
  7. ↑ Butcher, Pat (2004-05-04). Completely off pace. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-06-12.
  8. ↑ Commonwealth Games Medallists - Men. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-06-12.
  9. ↑ One Mile Records. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-06-12.
  10. ↑ "Bowerman Mile Results" (PDF). www.diamondleague-eugene.com. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  11. ↑ One Mile All Time. IAAF (2011-06-10). Retrieved on 2011-06-12.
  12. ↑ http://trackinfo.org/SingleAgeRecords.html Single Age Records by Dominique Eisold
  13. ↑ http://xcnation.wix.com/xcnationnew#!twomile16-year-old-records/cx2z
  14. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20110629134819/http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf
  15. ↑ http://www.flotrack.org/article/12840-RESULTS-2012-Bislett-Games-Oslo-Diamond-League#.U3D9HVxV-sU
  16. ↑ http://www.letsrun.com/2011/prefontaine-results-0604.php
  17. ↑ http://bringbackthemile.com/history