Two miles explained

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 It has been largely superseded by the 3000 m and 5000 m, and by the 3200 m in NFHS American high school competitions.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
	Time	Athlete	Nation	Time	Athlete	Nation
	7:58.61	Daniel Komen		8:58.58 WB	Meseret Defar
	8:13.16	Rashid Ramzi		9:13.85	Mimi Belete
	7:54.10 WB	Jakob Ingebrigtsen		9:04.84	Laura Muir
	8:03.62	Grant Fisher		9:09.70	Alicia Monson
	8:03.50	Craig Mottram		9:13.94	Kimberly Smith
	8:21.67	Hudson de Souza		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		9 June 2023	Paris	[2]
2	7:58.61	Daniel Komen		19 July 1997	Hechtel
3	8:01.08	Haile Gebrselassie		31 May 1997	Hengelo
4	8:03.50	Craig Mottram		10 June 2007	Eugene
5	8:04.83	Tariku Bekele		10 June 2007	Eugene
6	8:07.07	Matt Tegenkamp		10 June 2007	Eugene
7	8:07.54	Joshua Cheptegei		30 June 2019	Stanford	[3]
8	8:07.59	Paul Chelimo		30 June 2019	Stanford
9	8:07.68	Eliud Kipchoge		4 June 2005	Eugene
10	8:07.75	Mo Farah		24 August 2014	Birmingham
11	8:08.69	Selemon Barega		30 June 2019	Stanford
12	8:09.01	Moses Kiptanui		30 July 1994	Hechtel
13	8:09.23	Ishamel Rokitto Kipkurui		9 June 2023	Paris	[4]
14	8:10.16	Jacob Kiplimo		21 August 2021	Eugene
15	8:10.34	Lamecha Girma		9 June 2023	Paris
16	8:10.59	Benjamin Limo		28 May 2006	Eugene
17	8:10.98	Khalid Boulami		6 July 1996	Hechtel
18	8:11.04	Berihu Aregawi		21 August 2021	Eugene
19	8:11.09	Grant Fisher		21 August 2021	Eugene
20	8:11.48	Alan Webb		4 June 2005	Eugene
21	8:11.55	Joe Klecker		21 August 2021	Eugene
22	8:11.59	Bob Kennedy		19 July 1997	Hechtel
23	8:11.62	Boaz Cheboiywo		4 June 2005	Eugene
24	8:11.73	Smail Sghir		6 July 1996	Hechtel
25	8:11.74	Dathan Ritzenhein		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		14 September 2007	Brussels
2	8:59.08	Francine Niyonsaba		27 May 2022	Eugene	[6]
3	9:06.74	Letesenbet Gidey		20 August 2021	Eugene	[7]
4	9:11.49	Mercy Cherono		24 August 2014	Birmingham
5	9:11.97	Regina Jacobs		12 August 1999	Los Gatos	[8] [9]
6	9:12.59	Viola Kibiwott		24 August 2014	Birmingham
7	9:12.90	Irene Jelagat		24 August 2014	Birmingham
8	9:13.85	Mimi Belete		31 May 2014	Eugene
9	9:14.09	Priscah Cherono		14 September 2007	Brussels
10	9:14.55	Hellen Obiri		20 August 2021	Eugene
11	9:14.71	Beatrice Chebet		27 May 2022	Eugene
12	9:15.74	Laura Galván		27 May 2022	Eugene
13	9:16.62	Sylvia Kibet		14 September 2007	Brussels
14	9:16.73	Konstanze Klosterhalfen		27 May 2022	Eugene	[10]
15	9:16.78	Jenny Simpson		27 April 2018	Des Moines
16	9:16.95	Betsy Saina		24 August 2014	Birmingham
17	9:17.62	Helen Schlachenhaufen		27 May 2022	Eugene
18	9:17.75	Jane Hedengren		8 June 2025	Renton	[11]
19	9:18.73	Elly Henes		27 May 2022	Eugene
20	9:19.01	Edinah Jebitok		27 May 2022	Eugene
21	9:19.56	Sonia O'Sullivan		27 June 1998	Cork City
22	9:20.17	Eleanor Fulton		27 May 2022	Eugene
23	9:20.19	Whittni Morgan		27 May 2022	Eugene
24	9:20.25	Shannon Rowbury		31 May 2014	Eugene
25	9:20.81	Alemitu Haroye		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 2026.

Rank	Result	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Place	Ref
1	8:00.67	Josh Kerr		11 February 2024	New York City	[12]
2	8:03.40	Mo Farah		21 February 2015	Birmingham
3	8:03.62	Grant Fisher		11 February 2024	New York City	[13]
4	8:04.35	Kenenisa Bekele		16 February 2008	Birmingham
5	8:04.69	Haile Gebrselassie		21 February 2003	Birmingham
6	8:05.70	Cole Hocker		11 February 2024	New York City
7	8:05.73	Geordie Beamish		11 February 2024	New York City
8	8:06.48	Paul Koech		16 February 2008	Birmingham
9	8:06.61	Hicham El Guerrouj		23 February 2003	Liévin
10	8:07.39	Eliud Kipchoge		18 February 2012	Birmingham
11	8:07.41	Galen Rupp		24 January 2014	Boston
12	8:07.83	Parker Wolfe		1 February 2026	New York City	[14]
13	8:08.16	Moses Kipsiro		18 February 2012	Birmingham
14	8:08.27	Tariku Bekele		18 February 2012	Birmingham
15	8:08.39	Markos Geneti		20 February 2004	Birmingham
16	8:08.40	Ky Robinson		1 February 2026	New York City	[15]
17	8:08.60	Graham Blanks		1 February 2026	New York City	[16]
18	8:08.91	Cooper Teare		1 February 2026	New York City	[17]
19	8:09.49	Bernard Lagat		16 February 2013	New York City	[18]
20	8:09.66	Hailu Mekonnen		18 February 2001	Birmingham
21	8:10.78	Arne Gabius		18 February 2012	Birmingham
22	8:10.91	Drew Hunter		1 February 2026	New York City	[19]
23	8:11.33	Ben True		11 February 2017	New York City
24	8:11.47	Habtom Samuel		1 February 2026	New York City	[20]
25	8:11.56	Ryan Hill		11 February 2017	New York City

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 8:11.56:

• Cole Hocker also ran 8:07.31 (2026).
• Josh Kerr also ran 8:07.68 (2026)
• Geordie Beamish also ran 8:08.58 (2026).

Women (indoor)

• Correct as of February 2024.

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

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		1903-09-12	London, United Kingdom
9:08.4		1904-06-11	Glasgow, United Kingdom
9:08.4		1925-06-23	Kramfors, Sweden
9:01.4		1926-09-12	Berlin, Germany
8:59.6		1931-06-24	Helsinki, Finland
8:58.4		1936-06-13	Princeton, USA
8:57.4		1936-09-24	Stockholm, Sweden
8:56.0		1937-09-30	Budapest, Hungary
8:53.2		1939-06-07	Helsinki, Finland
8:47.8		1942-06-03	Stockholm, Sweden
8:46.4		1944-06-25	Östersund, Sweden
8:42.8		1944-08-04	Stockholm, Sweden
8:40.4		1952-08-26	Paris, France
8:33.4		1955-05-30	London, United Kingdom
8:32.0		1958-08-07	Dublin, Ireland
8:30.0		1961-06-07	Jyväskylä, Finland
8:29.8		1962-06-08	Los Angeles, USA
8:29.6		1963-06-06	Paris, France
8:26.4		1964-08-29	Los Angeles, USA
8:22.6		1965-06-23	Melun, France
8:19.8		1967-07-27	Västerås, Sweden
8:19.6		1968-08-24	London, United Kingdom
8:17.8		1971-08-21	Edinburgh, United Kingdom
8:14.0		1972-08-14	Stockholm, Sweden
8:13.8		1973-08-27	London, United Kingdom
8:13.51		1978-09-15	London, United Kingdom
8:13.45		1987-05-28	Turin, Italy
8:12.17		1993-06-30	Hechtel, Belgium
8:09.01		1994-06-30	Hechtel, Belgium
8:07.46		1995-05-27	Kerkrade, Netherlands
8:03.54		1996-07-14	Lappeenranta, Finland
8:01.08		1997-05-31	Hengelo, Netherlands
7:58.61		1997-07-19	Hechtel, Belgium
7:54.10		2023-06-09	Paris, France

Indoors

Time	Athlete	Date	Place
8:09.66		2000-02-20	Birmingham, United Kingdom
8:04.69		2003-02-21	Birmingham, United Kingdom
8:04.35		2008-02-16	Birmingham, United Kingdom
8:03.40		2015-02-21	Birmingham, United Kingdom
8:00.67		2024-02-11	New York City, United States

Women

Outdoors

Time	Athlete	Date	Place
10:07.0		1971-07-10	Bakersfield, USA
9:55.9		1972-06-04	Redwood City, USA
9:19.56		1998-06-27	Cork, Ireland
9:10.47		2007-05-20	Carson, USA
8:58.58		2007-09-14	Brussels, Belgium

Indoors

Time	Athlete	Date	Place
9:28.15		1986-02-20	New York City, USA
9:23.38		2002-01-27	Boston, USA
9:10.50		2008-01-26	Boston, USA
9:06.26		2009-02-26	Prague, Czech Republic
9:00.48		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.^[23]

Time	Athlete	School	City	Date	Place
(8:40.0)	Gerry Lindgren	Rogers High School	Spokane, Washington	15 February 1964	Cow Palace, Daly City, California[24]
8:57.8	Mike Ryan	Wilcox High School	Santa Clara, California	1965
8:48.3	Rick Riley	Ferris High School	Spokane, Washington	28 May 1966	Washington State Championships[25]
8:41.5	Steve Prefontaine	Marshfield High School	Coos Bay, Oregon	25 April 1969	Corvallis Invitational, Corvallis, Oregon
8:40.9	Craig Virgin	Lebanon High School	Lebanon, Illinois	9 June 1973	International Prep Invitational, Prospect, Illinois
8:36.3	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

See also

• 3000 metres
• 3200 meters
• Mile run

External links

• World Record progression in men's running events
• World Records Set in Britain
• World Records and Best Performances
• Track and Field all-time Performances Homepage – Men's 2 miles
• Track and Field all-time Performances Homepage – Women's 2 miles

Notes and References

1. Web site: Two Miles – men – senior – all . 2024-10-11 . worldathletics.org.
2. Web site: Kipyegon, Girma and Ingebrigtsen make history in Paris. World Athletics. Jon Mulkeen. 9 June 2023. 10 June 2023.
3. News: Brian Russell . 1 July 2019 . Hassan takes historic 3000m victory in Stanford – IAAF Diamond League . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190701072917/https://www.iaaf.org/news/report/prefontaine-classic-stanford-2019-diamond-lea4 . 1 July 2019 . 20 July 2019 . IAAF.
4. Web site: 9 June 2023 . Two Miles Results . 10 June 2023 . sportresult.com.
5. Web site: 21 May 2017 . All-time men's best Two miles . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150627073929/http://www.alltime-athletics.com/m2milesok.htm . 27 June 2015. 13 February 2024 . alltime-athletics.com.
6. News: Mahuchikh and Taye triumph on opening night in Eugene. World Athletics. Cathal Dennehy. 28 May 2022. 10 June 2022.
7. News: Mike Rowbottom . 21 August 2021 . No world record but Hassan claims clear win in Eugene . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210822142853/https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/diamond-league/news/eugene-distance-night-hassan-report . 22 August 2021 . 27 August 2021 . World Athletics.
8. Web site: 20 May 2007 . Defar breaks world record in two miles . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180429025140/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-athletics-carson-defar-idUSL2039239320070520 . 29 April 2018 . 3 May 2018 . Reuters.
9. Web site: 17 April 2018 . U.S. ALL-TIME LIST – WOMEN . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190401215229/https://trackandfieldnews.com/tfn-lists/u-s-all-time-list-women/ . 1 April 2019 . 3 May 2018 . Track and Field News.
10. Web site: 28 May 2022 . 2 Miles Results . 10 June 2022 . World Athletics.
11. Web site: Jane Hedengren Runs Another Mind-Boggling Record For 2-Mile At Brooks PR Invitational. brooksprinvitational.runnerspace.com. Keenan Gray. 15 June 2025.
12. Web site: Singh . Nancy . 11 February 2024 . Josh Kerr Shatters 9-Year Record to Beat American Record Holder on New York . 11 February 2024 . EssentiallySports.
13. Web site: 11 February 2024 . Two Miles Result . 11 February 2024 . World Athletics.
14. Web site: Two Miles Results. World Athletics. 13 February 2026.
15. Web site: Two Miles Results. World Athletics. 13 February 2026.
16. Web site: Two Miles Results. World Athletics. 13 February 2026.
17. Web site: Two Miles Results. World Athletics. 13 February 2026.
18. Web site: 16 February 2013 . Two Miles Results . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20130220003303/http://branchsportstech.com/2013_Meets/indoor/02-16-millrose/Results39-1.htm . 20 February 2013 . 14 February 2017 . branchsportstech.com.
19. Web site: Two Miles Results. World Athletics. 13 February 2026.
20. Web site: Two Miles Results. World Athletics. 13 February 2026.
21. News: Taylor Dutch . 14 February 2021 . Three American Records and 10 National Records Fall at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210226143457/https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a35499064/new-balance-indoor-grand-prix-results/ . 26 February 2021 . 23 February 2021 . runnersworld.com.
22. Web site: 11 February 2024 . Two Miles Result . 11 February 2024 . World Athletics.
23. Web site: Archived copy . 23 April 2013 . 14 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120314220709/http://www.cs.uml.edu/~phoffman/nats/gods.htm . live .
24. Web site: Track & Field News – The Bible Of The Sport Since 1948. trackandfieldnews.com. 12 April 2018. 15 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170215194739/http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php?id=557&option=com_content. live.
25. Web site: Running_Shots_25. runningentertainment.com. 12 April 2018. 1 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180301215514/http://www.runningentertainment.com/runningshots25.html. live.