Athletics
Two miles
World records
MenKenya Daniel Komen 7:58.61 (1997)
WomenEthiopia Meseret Defar 8:58.58 (2007)

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 It has been largely superseded by the 3000 m (approximately 1.864 miles) and 5000 m, and by the 3200 m in NFHS American high school competitions. The IAAF 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

Men

Rank Result Athlete Nationality Date Place Ref
1 7:58.61 Daniel Komen  Kenya 19 July 1997 Hechtel
2 8:01.08 Haile Gebrselassie  Ethiopia 31 May 1997 Hengelo
3 8:03.40 i Mo Farah  United Kingdom 21 February 2015 Birmingham
4 8:03.50 Craig Mottram  Australia 10 June 2007 Eugene
5 8:04.35 i Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia 16 February 2008 Birmingham
6 8:04.83 Tariku Bekele  Ethiopia 10 June 2007 Eugene
7 8:06.48 i Paul Koech  Kenya 16 February 2008 Birmingham
8 8:06.61 i Hicham El Guerrouj  Morocco 23 February 2003 Liévin
9 8:07.07 Matt Tegenkamp  United States 10 June 2007 Eugene
10 8:07.39 i Eliud Kipchoge  Kenya 18 February 2012 Birmingham
11 8:07.41 i Galen Rupp  United States 24 January 2014 Boston
12 8:07.54 Joshua Cheptegei  Uganda 30 June 2019 Stanford [2]
13 8:07.59 Paul Chelimo  United States 30 June 2019 Stanford [2]
14 8:08.16 i Moses Kipsiro  Uganda 18 February 2012 Birmingham
15 8:08.39 i Markos Geneti  Ethiopia 20 February 2004 Birmingham
16 8:08.69 Selemon Barega  Ethiopia 30 June 2019 Stanford [2]
17 8:09.01 Moses Kiptanui  Kenya 30 July 1994 Hechtel
18 8:09.49 i Bernard Lagat  United States 16 February 2013 New York City [3]
19 8:09.66 i Hailu Mekonnen  Ethiopia 18 February 2001 Birmingham
20 8:10.16 Jacob Kiplimo  Uganda 21 August 2021 Eugene [4]
21 8:10.59 Benjamin Limo  Kenya 28 May 2006 Eugene
22 8:10.78 i Arne Gabius  Germany 18 February 2012 Birmingham
23 8:10.98 Khalid Boulami  Morocco 6 July 1996 Hechtel
24 8:11.04 Berihu Aregawi  Ethiopia 21 August 2021 Eugene [4]
25 8:11.09 Grant Fisher  United States 21 August 2021 Eugene [4]

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 8:07.46:

Women

Rank Result Athlete Nationality Date Place Ref
1 8:58.58 Meseret Defar  Ethiopia 14 September 2007 Brussels
3 8:59.08 Francine Niyonsaba  Burundi 27 May 2022 Eugene [6]
2 9:00.48 i Genzebe Dibaba  Ethiopia 15 February 2014 Birmingham
4 9:06.74 Letesenbet Gidey  Ethiopia 20 August 2021 Eugene [7]
5 9:10.28 i Elinor Purrier  United States 13 February 2021 New York City [8]
6 9:11.49 Mercy Cherono  Kenya 24 August 2014 Birmingham
7 9:11.97 Mx Regina Jacobs  United States 12 August 1999 Los Gatos [9][10]
8 9:12.23 i Tirunesh Dibaba  Ethiopia 20 February 2010 Birmingham
9 9:12.35 i Vivian Cheruiyot  Kenya 20 February 2010 Birmingham
10 9:12.59 Viola Kibiwott  Kenya 24 August 2014 Birmingham
11 9:12.68 i Sentayehu Ejigu  Ethiopia 20 February 2010 Birmingham
12 9:12.90 Irene Jelagat  Kenya 24 August 2014 Birmingham
13 9:13.85 Mimi Belete  Bahrain 31 May 2014 Eugene
14 9:13.94 i Kim Smith  New Zealand 26 January 2008 Boston
15 9:14.09 Priscah Cherono  Kenya 14 September 2007 Brussels
16 9:14.55 Hellen Obiri  Kenya 20 August 2021 Eugene [7]
17 9:14.71 Beatrice Chebet  Kenya 27 May 2022 Eugene [11]
18 9:15.71 i Emma Coburn  United States 13 February 2021 New York City [8]
19 9:15.74 Laura Galván  Mexico 27 May 2022 Eugene [12]
20 9:16.62 Sylvia Kibet  Kenya 14 September 2007 Brussels
21 9:16.73 Konstanze Klosterhalfen  Germany 27 May 2022 Eugene [13]
22 9:16.78 Jennifer Simpson  United States 27 April 2018 Des Moines [14][15]
23 9:16.95 Betsy Saina  Kenya 24 August 2014 Birmingham
24 9:17.62 Helen Schlachtenhaufen  United States 27 May 2022 Eugene [16]
25 9:18.26 Viola Kibiwott  Kenya 14 September 2007 Brussels

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 9:13.27:

World Record Progression

Men

Outdoors

TIME ATHLETE DATE PLACE
9:17.0  Alfred Shrubb (GBR) 1903-09-12 London, United Kingdom
9:08.4  Alfred Shrubb (GBR) 1904-06-11 Glasgow, United Kingdom
9:08.4  Edvin Wide (SWE) 1925-06-23 Kramfors, Sweden
9:01.4  Edvin Wide (SWE) 1926-09-12 Berlin, Germany
8:59.6  Paavo Nurmi (FIN) 1931-06-24 Helsinki, Finland
8:58.4  Don Lash (USA) 1936-06-13 Princeton, USA
8:57.4  Gunnar Höckert (FIN) 1936-09-24 Stockholm, Sweden
8:56.0  Miklós Szabó (HUN) 1937-09-30 Budapest, Hungary
8:53.2  Taisto Mäki (FIN) 1939-06-07 Helsinki, Finland
8:47.8  Gunder Hägg (SWE) 1942-06-03 Stockholm, Sweden
8:46.4  Gunder Hägg (SWE) 1944-06-25 Östersund, Sweden
8:42.8  Gunder Hägg (SWE) 1944-08-04 Stockholm, Sweden
8:40.4  Gaston Reiff (BEL) 1952-08-26 Paris, France
8:33.4  Sándor Iharos (HUN) 1955-05-30 London, United Kingdom
8:32.0  Albie Thomas (AUS) 1958-08-07 Dublin, Ireland
8:30.0  Murray Halberg (NZL) 1961-06-07 Jyväskylä, Finland
8:29.8  Jim Beatty (USA) 1962-06-08 Los Angeles, USA
8:29.6  Michel Jazy (FRA) 1963-06-06 Paris, France
8:26.4  Bob Schul (USA) 1964-08-29 Los Angeles, USA
8:22.6  Michel Jazy (FRA) 1965-06-23 Melun, France
8:19.8  Ron Clarke (AUS) 1967-07-27 Västerås, Sweden
8:19.6  Ron Clarke (AUS) 1968-08-24 London, United Kingdom
8:17.8  Emiel Puttemans (BEL) 1971-08-21 Edinburgh, United Kingdom
8:14.0  Lasse Virén (FIN) 1972-08-14 Stockholm, Sweden
8:13.8  Brendan Foster (GBR) 1973-08-27 London, United Kingdom
8:13.51  Steve Ovett (GBR) 1978-09-15 London, United Kingdom
8:13.45  Saïd Aouita (MAR) 1987-05-28 Turin, Italy
8:12.17  Khalid Skah (MAR) 1993-06-30 Hechtel, Belgium
8:09.01  Moses Kiptanui (KEN) 1994-06-30 Hechtel, Belgium
8:07.46  Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 1995-05-27 Kerkrade, Netherlands
8:03.54  Daniel Komen (KEN) 1996-07-14 Lappeenranta, Finland
8:01.10  Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 1997-05-31 Hengelo, Netherlands
7:58.61  Daniel Komen (KEN) 1997-07-19 Hechtel, Belgium

Indoors

TIME ATHLETE DATE PLACE
8:09.66  Hailu Mekonnen (ETH) 2000-02-20 Birmingham, United Kingdom
8:04.69  Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 2003-02-21 Birmingham, United Kingdom
8:04.35  Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) 2008-02-16 Birmingham, United Kingdom
8:03.40  Mo Farah (GBR) 2015-02-21 Birmingham, United Kingdom

Women

Outdoors

TIME ATHLETE DATE PLACE
10:07.0  Doris Brown (USA) 1971-07-10 CA, USA
9:55.9  Francie Larrieu (USA) 1972-06-04 CA, USA
9:19.56  Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL) 1998-06-27 Cork, Ireland
9:10.47  Meseret Defar (ETH) 2007-05-20 Carson, USA
8:58.58  Meseret Defar (ETH) 2007-09-14 Brussels, Belgium

Indoors

TIME ATHLETE DATE PLACE
9:28.15  Lynn Jennings (USA) 1986-02-20 New York City, USA
9:23.38  Regina Jacobs (USA) 2002-01-27 Boston, USA
9:10.50  Meseret Defar (ETH) 2008-01-26 Boston, USA
9:06.26  Meseret Defar (ETH) 2009-02-26 Prague, Czech Republic
9:00.48  Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 2014-02-15 Birmingham, United Kingdom

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.[17]

TIME ATHLETE SCHOOL CITY DATE PLACE
(8:40.0i) Gerry Lindgren Rogers High School Spokane, Washington February 15, 1964 Cow Palace, Daly City, California[18]
8:57.8 Mike Ryan Wilcox High School Santa Clara, California 1965
8:48.3 Rick Riley Ferris High School Spokane, Washington May 28, 1966 Washington State Championships[19]
8:41.5 Steve Prefontaine Marshfield High School Coos Bay, Oregon April 25, 1969 Corvallis Invitational, Corvallis, Oregon[19]
8:40.9 Craig Virgin Lebanon High School Lebanon, Illinois June 9, 1973 International Prep Invitational, Prospect, Illinois[19]
8:36.3 Jeff Nelson Burbank High School Burbank, California May 6, 1979 Pepsi Invitational, Westwood, Los Angeles, California
8:34.23 German Fernandez Riverbank High School Riverbank, California June 20, 2008 Nike Outdoor Nationals, Greensboro, North Carolina video
8:29.46 Lukas Verzbicas Carl Sandburg High School Orland Hills, Illinois June 4, 2011 Prefontaine Classic, Eugene, Oregon video

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "All-time men's best Two miles". alltime-athletics.com. 11 May 2016. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Brian Russell (1 July 2019). "Hassan takes historic 3000m victory in Stanford – IAAF Diamond League". IAAF. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Two Miles Results". www.branchsportstech.com. 16 February 2013. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Prefontaine Classic 2021 Complete Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 21 August 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  5. ^ "All-time women's best Two miles". alltime-athletics.com. 21 May 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  6. ^ Cathal Dennehy (28 May 2022). "Mahuchikh and Taye triumph on opening night in Eugene". World Athletics. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  7. ^ a b Mike Rowbottom (21 August 2021). "No world record but Hassan claims clear win in Eugene". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  8. ^ a b Taylor Dutch (14 February 2021). "Three American Records and 10 National Records Fall at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix". runnersworld.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Defar breaks world record in two miles". Reuters. 20 May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  10. ^ "U.S. ALL-TIME LIST — WOMEN". Track and Field News. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  11. ^ Cathal Dennehy (28 May 2022). "Mahuchikh and Taye triumph on opening night in Eugene". World Athletics. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  12. ^ Cathal Dennehy (28 May 2022). "Mahuchikh and Taye triumph on opening night in Eugene". World Athletics. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  13. ^ "2 Miles Results". World Athletics. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Jenny Simpson, in another return to Drake Relays, takes aim at American 2-mile record". Des Moines Register. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Jenny Simpson breaks U.S. 2-mile record at Drake Relays". ESPN.com. 27 April 2018. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  16. ^ "2 Miles Results". World Athletics. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2013.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "Track & Field News – The Bible Of The Sport Since 1948". www.trackandfieldnews.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  19. ^ a b c "Running_Shots_25". runningentertainment.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.

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