The 2 mile (10,560
feet or 3,218.688
metres) is a historic
running distance. Like the
mile run, it is still contested at some invitational meets due its historical chronology in the
United States and
United Kingdom. It has been largely superseded by the
3000 m
The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track.
It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...
(approximately 1.864 miles) and
5000 m
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...
, and by the 3200 m in
NFHS American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
high school competitions. The
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
no longer keeps official
world records for this distance; they are called world best instead.
The world best for men is 7:58.61 set by
Kenyan
Daniel Komen in Hechtel, Belgium on 19 July 1997. The women's record is 8:58.58, set by
Ethiopian
Meseret Defar in Brussels, Belgium on 14 September 2007. Komen is the only person to run the distance in under 8 minutes, and thus run two miles at a
four-minute mile pace.
All-time top 25
*i = indoor performance
*mx = mixed race
Men
*Correct as of August 2021.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 8:07.46:
*
Daniel Komen also ran 7:58.91 (1998), 8:03.54 (1996).
*
Haile Gebrselassie also ran 8:01.72 (1999), 8:01.86 (1999), 8:07.46 (1995).
Women
*Correct as of August 2021.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 9:13.27:
*
Francine Niyonsaba also ran 9:00.75 (2021).
*
Meseret Defar also ran 9:06.26i (2009), 9:10.47 (2007), 9:10.50i (2008).
*
Mercy Cherono
Mercy Cherono Koech (born 7 May 1991) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 5000 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.
She is a two-time world junior champion in the 3000 metres (2008, ...
also ran 9:13.27 (2014).
World Record Progression
Men
Outdoors
Indoors
Women
Outdoors
Indoors
High school boys progression
Note: this list only covers boys because the history of 2 mile running largely occurred before
Title IX, before high school girls were allowed to compete, which occurred about the same time as conversion to metric distances.
See also
*
Long-distance track event
*
World records in athletics
Notes
External links
World Record progression in men's running events
* ttp://www.alltime-athletics.com/w2milesok.htm Track and Field all-time Performances Homepage – Women's 2 miles
{{Athletics events
Events in track and field
Middle-distance running