Three American Records Part Of Record-Breaking 116th Edition Of New York's Premier Meet: Fisher, Monson In 2 Mile, St. Pierre In Mile

By David Woods for DyeStat

NEW YORK –  A miler ran to a world indoor record at the Millrose Games. Just not in the mile.

Put it this way:

After a 2-mile world record of 8:00.67, Josh Kerr is more than upholding the legacy of British runners.

Elsewhere on a a riveting Super Bowl Sunday matinee at this 116th meet, the Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton broke a world record of 7.67 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, Elle St. Pierre and Alicia Monson ran to American records in the mile and 2-mile, Grant Fisher broke an American record behind Kerr, and Yared Nuguse won the men’s mile in 3:47.83.

With Sebastian Coe in attendance, Kerr effectively ran back-to-back Roger Bannister miles and broke a Mo Farah record.

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“Mo Farah records are one of the most difficult records to beat,” Kerr said.

Running the closing 440 yards in 56.97 seconds, the 26-year-old Scot nearly became the first man to run a sub-8-minute 2-mile indoors. He crushed Farah’s record of 8:03.40 set at Birmingham, England in February 2015.

Fisher (8:03.62) and Cole Hocker (8:05.70) finished second and third, both under Galen Rupp’s American record of 8:07.41 from 2014. Geordie Beamish was fourth in a New Zealand record of 8:05.73. Morgan McDonald was fifth in an Australian record of 8:12.01.

Top four climbed to Nos. 1, 3, 6 and 7 on the all-time performer list.

At 3,000 meters, Kerr clocked 7:30.16 and Fisher 7:30.91.

NBC’s televised coverage had barely begun before Charlton took down one of the sport’s oldest indoor records.

Her 7.67 broke the record of 7.68 set by Sweden’s Susanna Kallur in 2008.

Perhaps more impressive is who she beat: world champions Danielle Williams and Nia Ali, American record-holder Sherika Nelvis and world leader Tia Jones.

“I heard the announcer say something that sounded like 'world record,’ but it didn't hit me until I saw my name and time on the clock,” said Charlton, the world indoor silver medalist in 2022. “I can't describe that moment."

Williams, a Jamaican who won the 100-meter hurdles at last August’s World Championships, was second in 7.79. Jones was third, also in 7.79. Ali was sixth in 7.95.

St. Pierre, just 11 months after childbirth, ran the closing 440 yards in 61.33 to win the mile in 4:16.41 and break her four-year-old American record of 4:16.85.

Only faster indoor miles were by two Ethiopians, Genzebe Dibaba (4:13.31) in 2016 and Gudaf Tsegay (4:16.16) last year.

Harvard’s Maia Ramsden, of New Zealand, was eighth in 4:24.83. She narrowly missed the collegiate record of 4:24.26 set by North Carolina State’s Katelyn Tuohy last year.

The women’s 2-mile had an unsatisfying finish because apparent winner Medina Eisa, the 19-year-old Ethiopian, was disqualified after overtaking Great Britain’s Laura Muir in the closing stretch. Muir said afterward she knew Eisa would be DQ’d for cutting in too soon on the first lap.

So, Muir was first in 9:04.84, second-fastest ever behind Dibaba’s 9:00.48 from 2014. Melkanat Wudu of Ethiopia was second in 9:07.12.

Monson was third in 9:09.70, breaking St. Pierre’s American record of 9:10.28 in 2021. Monson also holds American records at 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

Muir, Wudu and Monson climbed to Nos. 2, 4 and 5 on the all-time list.

Nikki Hiltz, another miler, finished fourth in 9:15.80.

In the climactic Wanamaker Mile, Nuguse was on pace to break the world record of 3:47.01 set by Ethiopian’s Yomif Kejelcha in 2019. Behind pacesetter Derek Holdsworth, Nuguse was at 1:52.40 through a half-mile.

The pace lagged before Nuguse pulled away on the last lap to finish first, just off his 3:47.38 from last year.

Hobbs Kessler, a 20-year old from Ann Arbor, Mich., was second in 3:48.66. That makes him No. 4 on the all-time world list behind Kejelcha, Nuguse and Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj (3:48.45 in 1997) – and just ahead of Kerr (3:48.87).

Other winners included former NCAA superstar Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia in the women’s 60 meters, a world-leading 6.99; world record-holder Christian Coleman in the men’s 60 meters, 6.51; Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the women’s high jump, 6-6.75 (2.00m); and Chris Nilsen in the pole vault, 19-1 (5.82m), over KC Lightfoot, also at 19-1, on fewer attempts.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007