Josh Kerr On Targeting Hicham El Guerrouj’s Mile World Record At The London Diamond League

“This sport is built around big moments and I believe we can create one of those in July. This is one of the hardest world records in track and field and I’m not scared to say that I’m going after it. I can’t guarantee that I’m going to get it, but I’m going to do every single thing in my power. I have a great team of people around me and an amazing coaching staff that I think we’re going to get damn close if we don’t get it.”

My guest for today's episode is Josh Kerr: world champion, Olympic medalist, two-time world indoor gold medalist at 3000m. He’s now announcing the news that on July 18th at the London Diamond League, he’ll be taking aim at one of the sport's most iconic marks: Hicham El Guerrouj’s 3:43.13 mile world record, which has stood since 1999.

He and Brooks are calling the shot publicly with Project 222, with the goal of running the mile in 222 seconds. If you know Josh Kerr, that shouldn't surprise you. He's never been shy about big ambitions, he's coming off another global title indoors, and he says he feels healthy, sharp and ready. He's built this season around one clear target, giving one of track's oldest and most revered records the full respect it deserves. That means we have a specific date, a home crowd in London, a custom built one-off spike, multiple speed suit prototypes, and a full team effort aimed at running faster than anyone ever has over the mile.

In this conversation, Josh talks about why now is the right time for this attempt, what makes the mile world record so difficult to chase, how his training has evolved under coach Danny Mackey, and why he believes this attempt deserves a lot of publicity in the lead-up.

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Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez

Guest: Josh Kerr | @joshhkerr

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr

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