Emsley Carr Mile

The Emsley Carr Mile is an annual invitational athletics running event held in the United Kingdom over one mile for men. The race has been part of the London Grand Prix since 2008, and was won in 2017 by the Scottish athlete Jake Wightman.

Emsley Carr Mile
Augustine Choge (second right) on his way to winning the 2013 Emsley Carr Mile held at the Olympic Stadium, London.
LocationVarious locations in the United Kingdom
Event typeTrack
Distance1 Mile race
Established1953
ParticipantsBy invitation

History

The race was inaugurated in 1953 by Sir William Carr in memory of his father Sir Emsley Carr, a former editor of the News of the World.[1][2] The event was created to encourage athletes to break the four-minute mile.[2] By the second time the race was run, Roger Bannister had already broken the world record on 6 May 1954 at the annual athletics event between the Amateur Athletics Association (AAA) and Oxford University at the Iffley Road Track in Oxford.[3] Bannister never did run in the Emsley Carr Mile.[2]

Silas Kiplagat (second right) on his way to winning the 2012 Emsley Carr Mile

The winners of the race sign the Emsley Carr Trophy, a red Moroccan leather-bound book, now running into a second volume since 1980.[1][2] It contains a history of mile running since 1868 from around the world and also includes signatures of many of the world's leading milers, including Paavo Nurmi, Sydney Wooderson, John Landy, Gordon Pirie, and Roger Bannister.[4] The race has been won by eleven Olympic champions, Kip Keino, Steve Ovett, Murray Halberg, John Walker, Sebastian Coe, Saïd Aouita, William Tanui, Vénuste Niyongabo, Haile Gebrselassie, Asbel Kiprop, and Hicham El Guerrouj. It has also been won by seven athletes who have held the world record for the mile: Walker, Ovett, Coe, El Guerrouj, Filbert Bayi, Derek Ibbotson and Jim Ryun.[2]

Ken Wood, a former Sheffield athlete, won the Emsley Carr Mile a record four times.[5] The fastest time recorded for the event stands at 3:45.96 by El Guerrouj in 2000. It is the ninth fastest time ever recorded for the mile, and the fastest time recorded on British soil.[1] El Guerrouj won the Emsley Carr Mile in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

In 1969 Sir William Carr decided not to continue sponsoring the race and the AAA took it over and continued until he died in 1977.[1] Since 1977, Emsley Carr's grandson, William, has continued with the tradition and has kept the book up to date and has provided a glass piece, presented to the winner by a member of the Carr family.[1]

Winners

See also

Notes
  1. MacKay, Duncan (7 August 2003). "Miling milestone brings out the stars". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
  2. Turnbull, Simon (8 August 2003). "Athletics: Chirchir brothers add to nostalgia of Emsley milestone". The Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
  3. Powell, David (7 August 2003). "Emsley Carr Mile stands test of time". Times Online. Times Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 18 October 2009.(subscription required)
  4. "Emsley Carr Mile". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
  5. Davies, Catriona (12 April 2004). "Did another runner pip Sir Roger?". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
  6. "A record breaker". Manchester Evening News. MEN Media. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  7. Turnbull, Simon (28 July 2013). "Young British milers start to build on the Olympic legacy". The Independent. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  8. "Kiprop Makes Statement at Emsley Carr Mile". Bring Back the Mile. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  9. "Mo Farah ends domestic track career at Müller Grand Prix". Athletics Weekly. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  10. "Birmingham Programme 2018 & Results". Diamond League. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  11. "Samuel Tefera captures Emsley Carr Mile crown". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
List of winners
  • Butler, Mark, Emsley Carr Mile Association of Road Racing Statisticians, 5 October 2006; Retrieved 23 January 2011
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