Many runners try to improve their mile time.
Whether your mile PR or PB is well over 10 minutes or you’ve run blazingly fast mile times in the 4-5 minute range, every runner has some curiosity and interest in running their fastest possible mile.
For that reason, the history of the fastest mile times ever run can also be fascinating for runners to learn about.
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The Fastest Mile Ever Run: Mile World Records
The fastest mile ever run to date is an impressive 3:43.13, a world record held by Hicham El Guerrouj from Morocco since July 7, 1999, who ran this blazing record-breaking time at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy as he edged out Noah Ngeny for the win.1World Athletics. (n.d.). Worldathletics.org. https://worldathletics.org/records/by-category/world-records
Some twenty three years later, this still remains the mile world record, despite improvements in training and running shoe technology.
The outdoor American mile record is 3:43.97 by Yared Nuguse.
The outdoor European mile record is 3:43.73 by Jakob Ingebrigtsen
The fastest indoor mile ever run to date was run by Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha on March 3, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. This indoor mile world record stands at a time of 3:47.01.
The fastest mile ever run by a woman was by Sifan Hassan, a runner from the Netherlands who set the women’s mile world record time of 4:12.53 on July 12, 2019 at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.2Hassan breaks world mile record in Monaco with 4:12.33 – IAAF Diamond League | REPORT | World Athletics. (n.d.). Worldathletics.org. https://worldathletics.org/news/report/hassan-breaks-mile-world-record-in-monaco
The world record for women of the fastest mile ever run indoors is 4:13.31, set by Genzebe Dibaba from Ethiopia on February 17, 2016 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.3Goodwin, S. (2016, February 17). Genzebe Dibaba and Ayanleh Souleiman break world indoor records.The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/17/genzebe-dibaba-ayanleh-souleiman-world-indoor-records-globen-galan-stockholm#:~:text=Dibaba%2C%20the%20outdoor%201500m%20world
A Brief History Of the Mile
Alongside the 800-meter and 1500-meter distances,the mile is considered a middle-distance event.
If you live outside of the United States, the entire concept of the mile run might be somewhat foreign.
The mile is a distance measurement unit in both the United States and Great Britain.
However, the mile distance is completely absent from the metric measurement system, so the idea of running a mile race might scramble your brain as you try to convert distances on the spot.
A mile is 1,609 meters, or just over 4 laps on a standard 400-meter running track.
The word “mile” comes from the Latin term “mille passus”, which translates to one-thousand paces.
This is because a mile was initially defined as being 1,000 Roman strides, with each stride being two paces.
In 1592, the mile distance was standardized by the English Parliament to equal eight furlongs.
A furlong is a unit of distance that is equivalent to 660 feet; therefore, a mile is 8 x 660 feet = 5,280 feet, or 1,760 yards.
This converts to approximately 1,609 meters, but on July, 1, 1959, the metric conversion of the mile officially became standardized as precisely 1609.344 meters through international agreements.
In terms of entering the picture as a race distance, the mile became a contested event towards the end of the 1800s when professional foot racing rose to prominence in England, becoming the most popular sport.
Today, the mile race is a contested track event officially sanctioned by the international and U.S. federations (World Athletics and USA Track And Field) as a record event that is not a metric distance.
History of the Fastest Mile Times
Shortly after the mile first became “The Mile” as a track event in England, Englishman Richard Webster posted the fastest mile time in 1865, which was 4:36.5.
This remained the fastest mile for a few years until it was progressively lowered to 4:29.0 by William Chinner and then 4:28.8 by Walter Gibbs, with both of these recording breaking times taking place in 1868.
Gibbs’ mile time remained the fastest run to date until 1874 when yet another English runner, Walter Slade, took the mile record down to 4:26 and then 4:24.5.
In the 1880s, Walter George from England became the fastest miler that most other milers were gunning after, eventually taking the mile record down to 4:18.4.
Although there were a few other impressive milers before him, Walter George is often considered to be the first real superstar of the mile race.
Finally, just before the turn of the twentieth century, a non-Englishman took over the mile record, as the footrace started to take hold on more of an international level.
Fred Bacon, from Scotland, was the first non-English runner to hold the mile world record.
The first mile world record recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was run by John Paul Jones of the United States on May 31, 1913, in Allston, Massachusetts.
American John Paul Jones ran the mile in 4:14.4.
In the 1930s, the progression of the fastest mile times accelerated because the media coverage of running increased, which played a large role in popularizing the sport.
The mile world record started to creep down closer to the 4-minute barrier, but it wasn’t until May 6, 1954 that Roger Bannister of the United Kingdom finally broke the seemingly impossible time barrier.
John Candy from Australia wasn’t far behind, also shattering the 4:00 barrier some 46 days later.
After these initial demonstrations of the real viability of breaking 4 minutes in the mile, many other runners started to follow suit, progressively lowering the mile world record.
The following table shows the progression of the mile time world records, and the fastest mile run ever.4berkshiresports.org–berkshiresports Resources and Information.(2024). Berkshiresports.org. http://www.berkshiresports.org/index.php?ID=milerecordprogression
Ready for some fast mile times?
| Time | Athlete | Country | Year | Venue Location |
| 4:36.5 | Richard Webster | England | 1865 | England |
| 4:29.0 | William Chinnery | England | 1868 | England |
| 4:28.8 | Walter Gibbs | England | 1868 | England |
| 4:26.0 | Walter Slade | England | 1874 | England |
| 4:24.5 | Walter Slade | England | 1875 | London |
| 4:23.2 | Walter George | England | 1880 | London |
| 4:21.4 | Walter George | England | 1882 | London |
| 4:18.4 | Walter George | England | 1884 | Birmingham, England |
| 4:18.2 | Fred Bacon | Scotland | 1894 | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| 4:17.0 | Fred Bacon | Scotland | 1895 | London |
| 4:15.6 | Thomas Conneff | United States | 1895 | Travers Island, N.Y. |
| 4:15.4 | John Paul Jones | United States | 1911 | Cambridge, Mass. |
| 4:14.4 | John Paul Jones | United States | 1913 | Cambridge, Mass. |
| 4:12.6 | Norman Taber | United States | 1915 | Cambridge, Mass. |
| 4:10.4 | Paavo Nurmi | Finland | 1923 | Stockholm |
| 4:09.2 | Jules Ladoumegue | France | 1931 | Paris |
| 4:07.6 | Jack Lovelock | New Zealand | 1933 | Princeton, N.J. |
| 4:06.8 | Glenn Cunningham | United States | 1934 | Princeton, N.J. |
| 4:06.4 | Sydney Wooderson | England | 1937 | London |
| 4:06.2 | Gundar Hägg | Sweden | 1942 | Goteborg, Sweden |
| 4:06.2 | Arne Andersson | Sweden | 1942 | Stockholm |
| 4:04.6 | Gunder Hägg | Sweden | 1942 | Stockholm |
| 4:02.6 | Arne Andersson | Sweden | 1943 | Goteborg, Sweden |
| 4:01.6 | Arne Andersson | Sweden | 1944 | Malmo, Sweden |
| 4:01.4 | Gunder Hägg | Sweden | 1945 | Malmo, Sweden |
| 3:59.4 | Roger Bannister | England | 1954 | Oxford, England |
| 3:58.0 | John Landy | Australia | 1954 | Turku, Finland |
| 3:57.2 | Derek Ibbotson | England | 1957 | London |
| 3:54.5 | Herb Elliott | Australia | 1958 | Dublin |
| 3:54.4 | Peter Snell | New Zealand | 1962 | Wanganui, N.Z. |
| 3:54.1 | Peter Snell | New Zealand | 1964 | Auckland, N.Z. |
| 3:53.6 | Michel Jazy | France | 1965 | Rennes, France |
| 3:51.3 | Jim Ryun | United States | 1966 | Berkeley, Calif. |
| 3:51.1 | Jim Ryun | United States | 1967 | Bakersfield, Calif. |
| 3:51.0 | Filbert Bayi | Tanzania | 1975 | Kingston, Jamaica |
| 3:49.4 | John Walker | New Zealand | 1975 | Goteborg, Sweden |
| 3:49.0 | Sebastian Coe | England | 1979 | Oslo |
| 3:48.8 | Steve Ovett | England | 1980 | Oslo |
| 3:48.53 | Sebastian Coe | England | 1981 | Zurich, Switzerland |
| 3:48.40 | Steve Ovett | England | 1981 | Koblenz, W. Ger. |
| 3:47.33 | Sebastian Coe | England | 1981 | Brussels |
| 3:46.31 | Steve Cram | England | 1985 | Oslo |
| 3:44.39 | Noureddine Morceli | Algeria | 1993 | Rieti, Italy |
| 3:43.13 | Hicham El Guerrouj | Morocco | 1999 | Rome, Italy |
On the women’s side of things, the first recorded mile record is 6:13.2 by Elizabeth Atkinson from the United Kingdom on June 24, 1921, as per Wikipedia.5Mile run world record progression. (2024, June 15). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_run_world_record_progression#Women
However, the IAAF did not officially recognize the mile as a record event for women until 1967.
The first IAAF women’s mile record holder was Anne Smith from the United Kingdom, who posted a mile time of 4:37.0 on June 3, 1967.
The table below shows the progression of IAAF mile records for women and the fastest mile run ever:6Progressions – Mile History. (2019). Bring Back the Mile. https://bringbackthemile.com/history/progressions
| Time | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Venue Location |
| 4:37.0 | Anne Smith | United Kingdom | June 3, 1967 | London |
| 4:36.8 | Maria Gommers | Netherlands | June 14, 1969 | Leicester |
| 4:35.3 | Ellen Tittel | West Germany | August 20, 1971 | Sittard |
| 4:29.5 | Paola Pigni | Italy | August 8, 1973 | Viareggio |
| 4:23.8 | Natalia Mărășescu | Romania | May 21, 1977 | Bucharest |
| 4:22.1 | Natalia Mărășescu | Romania | January 27, 1979 | Auckland |
| 4:21.7 | Mary Decker | United States | January 26, 1980 | Auckland |
| 4:20.89 | Lyudmila Veselkova | Soviet Union | September 12, 1981 | Bologna |
| 4:18.08 | Mary Decker-Tabb | United States | July 9, 1982 | Paris |
| 4:17.44 | Maricica Puică | Romania | September 9, 1982 | Rieti |
| 4:16.71 | Mary Decker-Slaney | United States | August 21, 1985 | Zürich |
| 4:15.61 | Paula Ivan | Romania | July 10, 1989 | Nice |
| 4:12.56 | Svetlana Masterkova | Russia | August, 14 1996 | Zürich |
| 4:12.33 | Sifan Hassan | Netherlands | July 12, 2019 | Monaco |
Final Thoughts
What’s your prediction: when will the mile world record fall? What do you think will ultimately be the fastest mile ever run?
Do you want to train for a fast mile or are you super curious to know the type of training it would take to break a 5-minute mile time? Whether you’re a high school runner or a pro, if so, check out our blazing 4 minute mile training guide for an inside look at how to train for a fast mile time!
References
- 1
World Athletics. (n.d.). Worldathletics.org. https://worldathletics.org/records/by-category/world-records
- 2
Hassan breaks world mile record in Monaco with 4:12.33 – IAAF Diamond League | REPORT | World Athletics. (n.d.). Worldathletics.org. https://worldathletics.org/news/report/hassan-breaks-mile-world-record-in-monaco
- 3
Goodwin, S. (2016, February 17). Genzebe Dibaba and Ayanleh Souleiman break world indoor records.The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/17/genzebe-dibaba-ayanleh-souleiman-world-indoor-records-globen-galan-stockholm#:~:text=Dibaba%2C%20the%20outdoor%201500m%20world
- 4
berkshiresports.org–berkshiresports Resources and Information.(2024). Berkshiresports.org. http://www.berkshiresports.org/index.php?ID=milerecordprogression
- 5
Mile run world record progression. (2024, June 15). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_run_world_record_progression#Women
- 6
Progressions – Mile History. (2019). Bring Back the Mile. https://bringbackthemile.com/history/progressions
- 7
Progressions – Mile History. (2019). Bring Back the Mile. https://bringbackthemile.com/history/progressions
