- Mile run world record progression
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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 minutes, while Svetlana Masterkova has the women's record of 4:12.56 minutes.[1] Since 1976, the mile is the only non-metric distance recognized by the IAAF for record purposes.
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 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 minutes (set by Walter George in 1886) 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 (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. Roger Bannister did it first, and John Landy followed 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.[2]
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 International Association of Athletics Federations (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.
Contents
Men's record progression
Professionals
Time Athlete Nationality Date Venue 4:28 Charles Westhall United Kingdom
26 July 1855 London 4:28 Thomas Horspool United Kingdom
28 September 1857 Manchester 4:23 Thomas Horspool United Kingdom
12 July 1858 Manchester 4:22¼ Siah Albison United Kingdom
27 October 1860 Manchester 4:21¾ William Lang United Kingdom
11 July 1863 Manchester 4:20½ Edward Mills United Kingdom
23 April 1864 Manchester 4:20 Edward Mills United Kingdom
25 June 1864 Manchester 4:17¼ William Lang United Kingdom
19 August 1865 Manchester 4:17¼ William Richards United Kingdom
19 August 1865 Manchester 4:16 1/5 William Cummings United Kingdom
14 May 1881 Preston 4:12¾ Walter George United Kingdom
23 August 1886 London Amateurs
Time Athlete Nationality Date Venue 4:55 J. Heaviside Ireland
1 April 1861 Dublin 4:49 J. Heaviside Ireland
27 May 1861 Dublin 4:46 Matthew Greene Ireland
27 May 1861 Dublin 4:33 George Farran Ireland
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 4:24½ 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.[3]
Another variation of the amateur record progression pre-1862 is as follows:[4]
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 Ireland
23 May 1862 Dublin IAAF era
The first world record in the mile for men (athletics) 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.[5]
Time Auto Athlete Nationality Date Venue 4:14.4 John Paul Jones United States
31 May 1913[5] Allston, Mass. 4:12.6 Norman Taber United States
16 July 1915[5] Allston, Mass. 4:10.4 Paavo Nurmi Finland
23 August 1923[5] Stockholm 4:09.2 Jules Ladoumègue France
4 October 1931[5] Paris 4:07.6 Jack Lovelock New Zealand
15 July 1933[5] Princeton, N.J. 4:06.8 Glenn Cunningham United States
16 June 1934[5] Princeton, N.J. 4:06.4 Sydney Wooderson United Kingdom
28 August 1937[5] Motspur Park 4:06.2 Gunder Hägg Sweden
1 July 1942[5] Göteborg 4:06.2 Arne Andersson Sweden
10 July 1942[5] Stockholm 4:04.6 Gunder Hägg Sweden
4 September 1942[5] Stockholm 4:02.6 Arne Andersson Sweden
1 July 1943[5] Göteborg 4:01.6 Arne Andersson Sweden
18 July 1944[5] Malmö 4:01.4 Gunder Hägg Sweden
17 July 1945[5] Malmö 3:59.4 Roger Bannister United Kingdom
6 May 1954[5] Oxford 3:58.0 John Landy Australia
21 June 1954[5] Turku 3:57.2 Derek Ibbotson United Kingdom
19 July 1957[5] London 3:54.5 Herb Elliott Australia
6 August 1958[5] Santry, Dublin 3:54.4 Peter Snell New Zealand
27 January 1962[5] Wanganui 3:54.1 3:54.04 Peter Snell New Zealand
17 November 1964[5] Auckland 3:53.6 Michel Jazy France
9 June 1965[5] Rennes 3:51.3 Jim Ryun United States
17 July 1966[5] Berkeley, Cal. 3:51.1 Jim Ryun United States
23 June 1967[5] Bakersfield, Cal. 3:51.0 Filbert Bayi Tanzania
17 May 1975[5] Kingston 3:49.4 John Walker New Zealand
12 August 1975[5] Göteborg 3:49.0 3:48.95 Sebastian Coe United Kingdom
17 July 1979[5] Oslo 3:48.8 Steve Ovett United Kingdom
1 July 1980[5] Oslo 3:48.53 Sebastian Coe United Kingdom
19 August 1981[5] Zürich 3:48.40 Steve Ovett United Kingdom
26 August 1981[5] Koblenz 3:47.33 Sebastian Coe United Kingdom
28 August 1981[5] Bruxelles 3:46.32 Steve Cram United Kingdom
27 July 1985[5] Oslo 3:44.39 Noureddine Morceli Algeria
5 September 1993[5] Rieti 3:43.13 Hicham El Guerrouj Morocco
7 July 1999[5] Rome Auto times to the hundredth of a second were accepted by the IAAF for events up to and including 10,000 m from 1981.[5]
Women's record progression
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
The first world record in the mile for women (athletics) 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.[6]
Time Athlete Nationality Date Venue 4:37.0 Anne Rosemary Smith United Kingdom
3 June 1967[6] London 4:36.8 Maria Gommers Netherlands
14 June 1969[6] Leicester 4:35.3 Ellen Tittel West Germany
20 August 1971[6] Sittard 4:29.5 Paola Pigni Italy
8 August 1973[6] Viareggio 4:23.8 Natalia Marasescu Romania
21 May 1977[6] Bucharest 4:22.09* Natalia Marasescu Romania
27 January 1979[6] Auckland 4:21.68* Mary Slaney United States
26 January 1980[6] Auckland 4:20.89 Lyudmila Veselkova Soviet Union
12 September 1981[6] Bologna 4:18.08 Mary Slaney United States
9 July 1982[6] Paris 4:17.44 Maricica Puică Romania
9 September 1982[6] Rieti 4:16.71 Mary Slaney United States
21 August 1985[6] Zürich 4:15.61 Paula Ivan Romania
10 July 1989[6] Nice 4:12.56 Svetlana Masterkova Russia
14 August 1996[6] Zürich 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 in 1981.[6]
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.
See also
References
- ^ One Mile Records. IAAF (2011). Retrieved on 2011-06-14.
- ^ IAAF International Association of Athletics Federations - IAAF.org - Statistics - Records
- ^ "World Mile Record Progression". Berkshire Sports. http://www.berkshiresports.org/index.php?ID=milerecordprogression. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
- ^ http://www.stat.colostate.edu/~jah/teach/st540/data/mile.info
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009." (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 549–50. http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009." (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 642. http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
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)(Broken link)
- Women's progression
- Another women's mile progression
- Frankfurt University (Women's progression) (German) (Broken link)
- Clips of Banister's 4 minute mile
- Video of current Men's world record by Hicham El Guerrouj
Athletics record progressions World 800 metres (progression) · 1500 metres (progression) · One mile (progression) · 3000 metres (men) (women)5000 metres (progression) · 10,000 metres (progression) · Marathon (progression) · 10 km walk (men) (women) · 20 km walk (men) (women) · 50 km walk (men)110/100 metres hurdles (men) (women) · 400 metres hurdles (men) (women) · 3000 metres steeplechase (men) (women)High jump (men outdoor • men indoor) (women) · Long jump (progression) · Triple jump (progression) · Pole vault (men outdoor • men indoor) (women)European Categories:- Athletics (track and field) record progressions
- World records in athletics
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