In an interview with the BBC, Kerr said the crowd support as he closed in on the record was \u201cjust incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t take my foot off the gas,\u201d he continued, \u201cbut … I started to glide and I was like \u2018oh wow this feels incredible.\u2019 It\u2019s incredible because I\u2019m slowing down. So, I was like \u2018I better get to the line.\u2019 So, crossing the finish line, seeing 42-something \u2014 anything \u2014 was my goal, so it was great.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old Kerr\u2019s previous best time was 3:45.34 in 2024.<\/p>\n
Kerr, the 2023 world champion, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the 2021 Olympic champion, put a charge in the slightly shorter but more widely contested 1,500-meter<\/a> race in the leadup to the Paris Olympics. They went back and forth online and on the track over a number of issues, including Kerr\u2019s suggestion that his rival could only run his top times with the help of pacesetters, the likes of which aren\u2019t allowed at major championships. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n When the Paris Games rolled around, Ingebrigtsen faded to fourth while American Cole Hocker pulled a huge upset<\/a>, with Kerr finishing second. <\/p>\n Last year at world championships, Ingebrigtsen faltered in a preliminary heat while Kerr pulled up lame and limped into the finish in a final won by Issac Nader of Portugal.<\/a><\/p>\n This year, with no worlds or Olympics on the schedule, Kerr made the mile his key target. It\u2019s a distance that isn\u2019t run as much in big events but that still has major historical significance, most of it surrounding Roger Bannister\u2019s<\/a> breaking of the once-intimidating four-minute barrier in 1954.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784405900_18_.jpeg\")
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