Josh Kerr broke Steve Cram’s 39-year-old British record in the Diamond League Mile in Eugene, Oregon. The Scot won a much-anticipated showdown with Norwegian rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen with a world-leading time of 3 minutes 45.34 seconds.
Crum, who narrates the race for the BBC, has held the British record since 1985 with a time of 3 minutes 46.32 seconds.
Olympic 1500m champion Ingebritsson was defeated by Cole at last year’s World Championships in Budapest and finished second, with Britain’s Neil Gurley and Jack Whiteman finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
Previously, Keely Hodgkinson won the women’s 800m race with an outstanding performance. The 22-year-old took the world lead with a time of 1 minute 55.78 seconds, while compatriot Jemma Reekie was third behind Kenya’s Mary Moraa in 1 minute 57.45 seconds.
World champion Sha’Carri Richardson won the first women’s 100m event of the Olympic year in 10.83 seconds, ahead of St. Lucia’s Julian Alfred (10.93) and Dina Smith (Dina Asher-Smith), Dina Asher-Smith won the British season’s best time with a time of 10.98 seconds.
Laura Muir continued her preparations for this summer’s Paris Olympics, finishing fourth in the women’s 1500m with a season-best time of 3 minutes, 56.35 seconds. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist said: “I want to be in top shape in August, so running 56 laps is a step towards that goal. [seconds] in May. This is very promising.
In addition, Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet won the women’s 10,000 meters championship with a time of 28 minutes and 54.14 seconds, setting a new world record. Chebet broke the record set by Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey on January 29, 2020 on June 8, 2021 at the FBK Arena in the Netherlands.
Chebet finished ahead of Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay, finishing in 29 minutes and 5.92 seconds in overcast and cool conditions. Chebet started to pull away with three laps remaining before going all in for the final lap. “My body responded well and I felt strong,” she said. “I feel like I’m comfortable.”
This is her first 10,000m race in Nairobi since 2020. Chebet, 24, won a silver medal in the 5000m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Hayward.
The competition qualified her for her first Olympic Games in Paris this summer. She said she hopes to double her time in the 5,000m and 10,000m. “But my goal is to run 5,000m first and then 10,000m,” she said. “Because this is my first time running 10,000 meters abroad, I am happy to have run 28 times and set a world record.”
The Prefontaine Classic is the only U.S. stop in the International Diamond League Series.
