Breaking barriers: A timeline of men's and women's mile records
PARIS (AP) — Despite not being on the Olympic program, where races follow metric measurements, the mile holds certain prestige in the world of middle-distance running.
Faith Kipyegon fell short of further cementing her place in mile-running history when she failed to become the first woman to run the distance in under 4 minutes in a Nike-sponsored event in Paris on Thursday.
Here's a look at some of the key moments in the record progression in men's and women's mile runs:
May 6, 1954: Medical student Roger Bannister becomes the first man to run a sub-4-minute mile during a track meet in Oxford, England, finishing in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.
May 29, 1954: Diane Leather becomes the first woman to run the mile in under 5 minutes, finishing in 4:59.6 during the Midland Counties Championships in Birmingham, England.
June 3, 1967: Anne Smith of Britain sets two world records in one race: 4:17.3 for the 1,500 meters and 4:37.0 for the mile (1,609 meters).
June 23, 1967: U.S. athlete Jim Ryun runs the mile in 3:51.1 His world record will hold for nearly eight years.
Aug. 12, 1975: John Walker of New Zealand runs the mile in 3:49.4 at a race in Göteborg, Sweden, becoming the first athlete to finish the distance in under 3:50.
July 27, 1985: Steve Cram sets a new world record at 3:46.32. It was the last of three mile records at Bislett Stadium in Oslo by Cram and fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett during a span of six years.
Aug. 14, 1996: Svetlana Masterkova of Russia sets a new women's record of 4:12.56. She will hold it for nearly 23 years.
July 7, 1999: Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco smashes the world record in the mile at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome with a time of 3:43.13. The record still stands.
July 21, 2023: Faith Kipyegon breaks the women's mile record at a Diamond League event in Monaco, clocking 4:07.64 in the Herculis Meeting at Stade Louis II to shatter the 4:12.33 set by long-time rival Sifan Hassan, on the same track in 2019.
June 26, 2025: Kipyegon fails in her bid to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes. She clocks 4 minutes, 06.42 seconds, surpassing her world record of 4:07.64. However, the time won't be officially recognized as the event was unofficial.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
26 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Barry Bonds will be getting a statue outside the Giants' ballpark, team CEO says
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Barry Bonds will be getting a statue outside the San Francisco Giants' home stadium where he set baseball's career home run record, the team's CEO said Thursday. Giants President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer was asked during a radio interview about a statue for Bonds, and he responded that it was 'on the radar.' But Baer didn't have any details of when that would happen. 'Barry is certainly deserving of a statue, and I would say should be next up,' Baer said during an appearance on San Francisco's 95.7 The Game. 'We don't have the exact location and the exact date and the exact timing. … It's coming. All I can say is it's coming.' Bonds played for San Francisco the last 15 of his 22 big league seasons, hitting 586 of his 762 homers while with the Giants from 1993-2007. He set the single-season MLB record with 73 homers in 2001, and hit his record-breaking 756th homer to pass Hank Aaron in a home game off Washington's Mike Bacsik on Aug. 7, 2007. There are currently five statues outside Oracle Park, those of Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry and Orlando Cepeda. The Giants retired Bonds' No. 25 jersey in 2018. Bonds, a seven-time MVP and 14-time All-Star, is not in the Hall of Fame. He failed to reach the 75% threshold required during his 10 years on the Baseball Writers Association of America's Hall of Fame ballot, mostly because of steroids allegations that dogged him during his final years with the Giants. The Contemporary Player Committee also passed on electing Bonds in 2022, though the committee could reconsider Bonds' status. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP MLB:
CTV News
31 minutes ago
- CTV News
Nike says U.S. tariffs will add US$1 billion to costs, plans to reduce China production
In this file photo dated Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, a Nike company logo is displayed outside a Nike store in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, FILE) Nike expects U.S. tariffs on imports to add around US$1 billion to its costs, the sportswear giant said on Thursday, detailing how it aims to reduce its reliance on production in China and mitigate the impact. U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on key trading partners have forced many retailers, including Hoka owner Deckers Brands to withdraw their forecasts as they brace for a slowdown in non-essential spending from consumers. China, subject to the biggest tariff increases imposed by Trump, accounts for about 16 per cent of the shoes Nike imports into the United States, chief financial officer Matthew Friend said. But the company aims to cut the figure to a 'high single-digit percentage range' by end-May 2026 by shifting production to other countries. 'We are partnering with our suppliers and our retail partners to mitigate this structural cost increase in order to minimize the overall impact to the consumer,' Friend added in a call with analysts. Nike has also already announced price increases to partly mitigate the impact of tariffs. Nike's shares gained 11 per cent in extended trading after the company forecast first-quarter revenue to fall in the mid-single digits, slightly better than estimates of a 7.3 per cent drop. The company also reported a smaller-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter revenue and beat profit estimates as CEO Elliott Hill's strategy to focus product innovation and marketing around sports begins to pay off. Having lost share in the fast-growing running market, Nike has scaled back production of sneakers such as the Air Force 1 and invested heavily in running shoes such as Pegasus and Vomero. Friend said the running category returned to growth in the fourth quarter. Under Hill, who joined in October last year, Nike is investing more into sport-focused marketing to regain its edge as a sports brand. On Thursday, it hosted an attempt by sponsored athlete Faith Kipyegon to run a mile in under four minutes. Paced by other star athletes in the glitzy, live-streamed event in a Paris stadium, Kipyegon fell short of the goal but set a new unofficial record. Nike's fourth-quarter sales fell 12 per cent to US$11.10 billion, compared with analysts' expectation of a 14.9 per cent drop to US$10.72 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. China continued to be a pain point, with executives saying a turnaround in the country will take time as Nike contends with tougher economic conditions and competition. The company's inventory was flat as of May 31, compared with a year ago, at US$7.5 billion. 'Nike's inventories are still too high considering the sales declines. It was a tough quarter, but this was widely anticipated,' said David Swartz, analyst at Morningstar Research. (Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru and Helen Reid; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
Calgary Herald
35 minutes ago
- Calgary Herald
Olympian's expanding coffee company helps fellow athletes reach their goals
Article content In 2020, Olympic speedskater Hayden Mayeur opened a mobile coffee company called Hayloft to support his athletic career — and now he's providing flexible work to other athletes with the same goal. Article content 'We've fully rebranded and shifted the business into creating this new atmosphere for athletes to be able to make that extra cash that they need to be able to focus on their Olympic dreams,' Mayeur said. Article content Article content Mayeur started the company out of a 1978 Citroen 2CV truckette, which he converted into an espresso bar in his garage. Since then, he's been catering to corporate and private events across the city. Hayloft has grown to include two carts, and now a barn on wheels that he'll use for festivals and larger events. Article content Article content The expansion means he'll need to grow his team. Mayeur has brought other athletes on board with the goal of giving them the same flexible work opportunities that he's created for himself. Article content 'In amateur sport nowadays, unfortunately, the funding just isn't where it needs to be,' Mayeur said. Athletes get some support from government, but with expensive equipment and fees on top of their day-to-day bills, most rely on sponsorships and part-time jobs to make ends meet. Article content 'Nobody across the entire country in amateur sport is here for money,' he said. 'It's all because we want to represent this country. But at the end of the day, we also have to be able to stay off the streets.' Article content Article content Article content The athletes will be allowed to work around their training and competition schedules, picking up shifts when they're able. Mayeur also offers them higher wages to alleviate some financial stress. Article content Mayeur said he was inspired by the impact Hayloft had on his own career, and wanted to do the same for other athletes. He had previously worked part-time as an ice technician at the Olympic Oval, but struggled to balance it with his training and competition schedules. Article content 'The same year I was able to leave my part-time job, I won a world championship,' Mayeur said. 'I would say a good chunk of that comes down to what the business has been able to do for my work hours, and I want that to be accessible to more and more athletes.'
