Two miles

Athletics
Two miles
Athletics; Two miles
World records
Men	Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 7:54.10 (2023)
Women	Meseret Defar (ETH) 8:58.58 (2007)
Short track world records
Men	Josh Kerr (GBR) 8:00.67 (2024)
Women	Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 9:00.48 (2014)

The 2 mile (3,520 yards, 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 It has been largely superseded by the 3000 m and 5000 m, and by the 3200 m in NFHS American high school competitions.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 7:54.10 set by Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen on 9 June 2023 in Paris. Ingebrigtsen, along with previous world best holder Daniel Komen, are the only people to have run the distance in under 8 minutes, and thus covered two miles at an average sub-four-minute mile pace. The women's record is 8:58.58, set by Ethiopian Meseret Defar in Brussels on 14 September 2007.

Continental Bests

Correct as of October 2024. Source: World Athletics^[1]

Key

WB = World best
i = Indoor performance

Area	Men			Women
Area	Time	Athlete	Nation	Time	Athlete	Nation
Africa (records)	7:58.61	Daniel Komen	Kenya	8:58.58 WB	Meseret Defar	Ethiopia
Asia (records)	8:13.16	Rashid Ramzi	Bahrain	9:13.85	Mimi Belete	Bahrain
Europe (records)	7:54.10 WB	Jakob Ingebrigtsen	Norway	9:04.84 i	Laura Muir	United Kingdom
North, Central America and Caribbean (records)	8:03.62 i	Grant Fisher	United States	9:09.70 i	Alicia Monson	United States
Oceania (records)	8:03.50	Craig Mottram	Australia	9:13.94 i	Kimberly Smith	New Zealand
South America (records)	8:21.67	Hudson de Souza	Brazil	none

All-time top 25

Mx = mixed race

Men (outdoor)

Correct as of June 2023.

Rank	Result	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Place	Ref
1	7:54.10	Jakob Ingebrigtsen	Norway	9 June 2023	Paris	^[2]
2	7:58.61	Daniel Komen	Kenya	19 July 1997	Hechtel
3	8:01.08	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	31 May 1997	Hengelo
4	8:03.50	Craig Mottram	Australia	10 June 2007	Eugene
5	8:04.83	Tariku Bekele	Ethiopia	10 June 2007	Eugene
6	8:07.07	Matt Tegenkamp	United States	10 June 2007	Eugene
7	8:07.54	Joshua Cheptegei	Uganda	30 June 2019	Stanford	^[3]
8	8:07.59	Paul Chelimo	United States	30 June 2019	Stanford	^[3]
9	8:07.68	Eliud Kipchoge	Kenya	4 June 2005	Eugene
10	8:07.75	Mo Farah	Great Britain	24 August 2014	Birmingham
11	8:08.69	Selemon Barega	Ethiopia	30 June 2019	Stanford	^[3]
12	8:09.01	Moses Kiptanui	Kenya	30 July 1994	Hechtel
13	8:09.23	Ishamel Rokitto Kipkurui	Kenya	9 June 2023	Paris	^[4]
14	8:10.16	Jacob Kiplimo	Uganda	21 August 2021	Eugene
15	8:10.34	Lamecha Girma	Ethiopia	9 June 2023	Paris	^[4]
16	8:10.59	Benjamin Limo	Kenya	28 May 2006	Eugene
17	8:10.98	Khalid Boulami	Morocco	6 July 1996	Hechtel
18	8:11.04	Berihu Aregawi	Ethiopia	21 August 2021	Eugene
19	8:11.09	Grant Fisher	United States	21 August 2021	Eugene
20	8:11.48	Alan Webb	United States	4 June 2005	Eugene
21	8:11.55	Joe Klecker	United States	21 August 2021	Eugene
22	8:11.59	Bob Kennedy	United States	19 July 1997	Hechtel
23	8:11.62	Boaz Cheboiywo	Kenya	4 June 2005	Eugene
24	8:11.73	Smail Sghir	Morocco	6 July 1996	Hechtel
25	8:11.74	Dathan Ritzenhein	United States	10 June 2007	Eugene

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 (outdoor)

Correct as of June 2025.^[5]

Rank	Result	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Place	Ref
1	8:58.58	Meseret Defar	Ethiopia	14 September 2007	Brussels
2	8:59.08	Francine Niyonsaba	Burundi	27 May 2022	Eugene	^[6]
3	9:06.74	Letesenbet Gidey	Ethiopia	20 August 2021	Eugene	^[7]
4	9:11.49	Mercy Cherono	Kenya	24 August 2014	Birmingham
5	9:11.97 Mx	Regina Jacobs	United States	12 August 1999	Los Gatos	^[8]^[9]
6	9:12.59	Viola Kibiwott	Kenya	24 August 2014	Birmingham
7	9:12.90	Irene Jelagat	Kenya	24 August 2014	Birmingham
8	9:13.85	Mimi Belete	Bahrain	31 May 2014	Eugene
9	9:14.09	Priscah Cherono	Kenya	14 September 2007	Brussels
10	9:14.55	Hellen Obiri	Kenya	20 August 2021	Eugene	^[7]
11	9:14.71	Beatrice Chebet	Kenya	27 May 2022	Eugene	^[6]
12	9:15.74	Laura Galván	Mexico	27 May 2022	Eugene	^[6]
13	9:16.62	Sylvia Kibet	Kenya	14 September 2007	Brussels
14	9:16.73	Konstanze Klosterhalfen	Germany	27 May 2022	Eugene	^[10]
15	9:16.78	Jenny Simpson	United States	27 April 2018	Des Moines
16	9:16.95	Betsy Saina	Kenya	24 August 2014	Birmingham
17	9:17.62	Helen Schlachenhaufen	United States	27 May 2022	Eugene	^[6]
18	9:17.75	Jane Hedengren	United States	8 June 2025	Renton	^[11]
19	9:18.73	Elly Henes	United States	27 May 2022	Eugene	^[6]
20	9:19.01	Edinah Jebitok	Kenya	27 May 2022	Eugene	^[6]
21	9:19.56	Sonia O'Sullivan	Ireland	27 June 1998	Cork City
22	9:20.17	Eleanor Fulton	United States	27 May 2022	Eugene	^[6]
23	9:20.19	Whittni Morgan	United States	27 May 2022	Eugene	^[6]
24	9:20.25	Shannon Rowbury	United States	31 May 2014	Eugene
25	9:20.81	Alemitu Haroye	Ethiopia	24 August 2014	Birmingham

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 9:14.55:

Francine Niyonsaba also ran 9:00.75 (2021).
Meseret Defar also ran 9:10.47 (2007)
Mercy Cherono also ran 9:13.27 (2014).

Men (indoor)

Correct as of February 2024.

Rank	Result	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Place	Ref
1	8:00.67	Josh Kerr	Great Britain	11 February 2024	New York City	^[12]
2	8:03.40	Mo Farah	Great Britain	21 February 2015	Birmingham
3	8:03.62	Grant Fisher	United States	11 February 2024	New York City	^[13]
4	8:04.35	Kenenisa Bekele	Ethiopia	16 February 2008	Birmingham
5	8:04.69	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	21 February 2003	Birmingham
6	8:05.70	Cole Hocker	United States	11 February 2024	New York City	^[13]
7	8:05.73	Geordie Beamish	New Zealand	11 February 2024	New York City	^[13]
8	8:06.48	Paul Koech	Kenya	16 February 2008	Birmingham
9	8:06.61	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	23 February 2003	Liévin
10	8:07.39	Eliud Kipchoge	Kenya	18 February 2012	Birmingham
11	8:07.41	Galen Rupp	United States	24 January 2014	Boston
12	8:08.16	Moses Kipsiro	Uganda	18 February 2012	Birmingham
13	8:08.27	Tariku Bekele	Ethiopia	18 February 2012	Birmingham
14	8:08.39	Markos Geneti	Ethiopia	20 February 2004	Birmingham
15	8:09.49	Bernard Lagat	United States	16 February 2013	New York City	^[14]
16	8:09.66	Hailu Mekonnen	Ethiopia	18 February 2001	Birmingham
17	8:10.78	Arne Gabius	Germany	18 February 2012	Birmingham
18	8:11.33	Ben True	United States	11 February 2017	New York City
19	8:11.56	Ryan Hill	United States	11 February 2017	New York City
20	8:12.01	Morgan McDonald	Australia	11 February 2024	New York City
21	8:12.10	Million Wolde	Ethiopia	18 February 2001	Birmingham
22	8:12.63	Andrew Butchart	Great Britain	11 February 2017	New York City
23	8:12.80	Girma Tola	Ethiopia	18 February 2001	Birmingham
24	8:13.02	Andrew Bumbalough	United States	16 February 2013	New York City	^[14]
25	8:13.16	Mohammed Ahmed	Canada	11 February 2017	New York City

Women (indoor)

Correct as of February 2024.

Rank	Result	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Place	Ref
1	9:00.48	Genzebe Dibaba	Ethiopia	15 February 2014	Birmingham
2	9:04.84	Laura Muir	United Kingdom	11 February 2024	New York City	^[15]
3	9:06.26	Meseret Defar	Ethiopia	26 February 2009	Prague
4	9:07.12	Melknat Wudu	Ethiopia	11 February 2024	New York City	^[15]
5	9:09.70	Alicia Monson	United States	11 February 2024	New York City	^[15]
6	9:10.28	Elinor Purrier	United States	13 February 2021	New York City	^[16]
7	9:12.23	Tirunesh Dibaba	Ethiopia	20 February 2010	Birmingham
8	9:12.35	Vivian Cheruiyot	Kenya	20 February 2010	Birmingham
9	9:12.68	Sentayehu Ejigu	Ethiopia	20 February 2010	Birmingham
10	9:13.94	Kim Smith	New Zealand	26 January 2008	Boston
11	9:15.71	Emma Coburn	United States	13 February 2021	New York City	^[16]
12	9:15.80	Nikki Hiltz	United States	11 February 2024	New York City	^[15]
13	9:16.76	Nozomi Tanaka	Japan	11 February 2024	New York City	^[15]
14	9:18.29	Emily Mackay	United States	11 February 2024	New York City	^[15]
15	9:18.35	Jenny Simpson	United States	7 February 2015	Boston
16	9:19.39	Jessica Augusto	Portugal	20 February 2010	Birmingham
17	9:21.04	Sally Kipyego	Kenya	8 February 2014	Boston
18	9:21.59	Hiwot Ayalew	Ethiopia	15 February 2014	Birmingham
19	9:22.66	Julie-Anne Staehli	Canada	13 February 2021	New York City	^[16]
20	9:23.38	Regina Jacobs	United States	27 January 2002	Boston
21	9:23.58	Emily Infeld	United States	11 February 2024	New York City	^[15]
22	9:24.71	Courtney Wayment	United States	11 February 2024	New York City	^[15]
23	9:26.87	Emily Lipari	United States	13 February 2021	New York City	^[16]
24	9:26.95	Helen Schlachenhaufen	United States	13 February 2021	New York City	^[16]
25	9:27.45	Katrina Coogan	United States	13 February 2021	New York City	^[16]

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 9:13.94:

Meseret Defar also ran 9:06.26 (2009), 9:10.50 (2008)

World Best Performance 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
8:01.08	Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)	1997-05-31	Hengelo, Netherlands
7:58.61	Daniel Komen (KEN)	1997-07-19	Hechtel, Belgium
7:54.10	Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)	2023-06-09	Paris, France

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
8:00.67	Josh Kerr (GBR)	2024-02-11	New York City, United States

Women

Outdoors

Time	Athlete	Date	Place
10:07.0	Doris Brown (USA)	1971-07-10	Bakersfield, USA
9:55.9	Francie Larrieu (USA)	1972-06-04	Redwood City, 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

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

Notes

^ "Two Miles – men – senior – all". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
^ Jon Mulkeen (9 June 2023). "Kipyegon, Girma and Ingebrigtsen make history in Paris". World Athletics. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
^ ^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.
^ ^a ^b "Two Miles Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
^ "All-time men's best Two miles". alltime-athletics.com. 21 May 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Cathal Dennehy (28 May 2022). "Mahuchikh and Taye triumph on opening night in Eugene". World Athletics. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^ ^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.
^ "Defar breaks world record in two miles". Reuters. 20 May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
^ "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.
^ "2 Miles Results". World Athletics. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^ Keenan Gray. "Jane Hedengren Runs Another Mind-Boggling Record For 2-Mile At Brooks PR Invitational". brooksprinvitational.runnerspace.com. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
^ Singh, Nancy (11 February 2024). "Josh Kerr Shatters 9-Year Record to Beat American Record Holder on New York". EssentiallySports. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Two Miles Result". World Athletics. 11 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Two Miles Results". branchsportstech.com. 16 February 2013. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Two Miles Result". World Athletics. 11 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 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.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Track & Field News – The Bible Of The Sport Since 1948". trackandfieldnews.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Running_Shots_25". runningentertainment.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.