Josh Kerr revealed on Saturday that he is eyeing the mile world record on July 18 at the London Diamond League and has a clear goal in mind: 222 seconds.
Kerr, 28, is targeting Hicham El Guerrouj’s 27-year-old mark of 3:43.13 from 1999 and is intent on shattering the mark in the United Kingdom as part of his Project 222 campaign.
“I believe I am the athlete to go after this,” Kerr said in a post on social media. “I believe in me, Brooks believes in me, and so do my friends and family. That’s all I need for this attempt.”
But setting the mark of 222 seconds means that Kerr will need to run 3:42 flat — which would be a substantial take down of El Guerrouj’s record.
Kerr ran 3:45.34 in the mile at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon and months later broke the 5th Ave Mile course record in 3:44.3 in New York City as part of a growing list of highlights at the distance. In 2023, he won the 1,500m world championship in Budapest, took silver in the event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and bronze in 2021 at the Tokyo Games.
Early season preparation has place Kerr in position to attempt the mile record, with Kerr winning the 3,000m title at last week’s indoor championships in Poland.
Meanwhile, Kerr will have the support of Brooks in the build up to Project 222 with the sportswear maker assembling a custom kit and spikes for the attempt that will be updated repeatedly as he gets closer to the London Diamond League meet in July.
On race day, Brooks will have a biomechanic-specific speedsuit that Kerr will sport on the track and a set of concepts have already been developed. Kerr will be the only athlete who will be testing the suit prior to his try at smashing the record.
