Wanamaker Mile
Template:Short description Template:Infobox athletics raceThe Wanamaker Mile is a prestigious indoor mile race for elite middle distance runners held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City. Alongside Oslo's Dream Mile and Eugene's Bowerman Mile, the Wanamaker Mile is among the world's premier mile races. It is the signature and concluding event of the Millrose Games, and is named in honor of department store owner Rodman Wanamaker.<ref name=":0"/>
The race is a tradition for Irish runners: past Irish winners include Ronnie Delany (1956–1959), Eamonn Coghlan (1977, '79–'81, '83, '85 and '87), Marcus O'Sullivan (1986, '88–'90 and 1992), Niall Bruton (1994 and 1996), and Mark Carroll (2000).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ray Flynn, the Irish record holder in the mile and the current meeting director of the Millrose Games, has also competed in the Wanamaker Mile.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
It was at the Millrose Games that Coghlan earned the nickname "Chairman of the Boards" (from the surface of the track being made of wooden boards).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> O'Sullivan has run 11 sub-four-minute miles in the Wanamaker.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Wanamaker Mile has been won by over 40 different men, including Glenn Cunningham, Kip Keino, Tony Waldrop, Filbert Bayi, Steve Scott, Noureddine Morceli, Bernard Lagat, Yared Nuguse, Matthew Centrowitz Jr., Marcus O'Sullivan, Ron Delany, and Eamonn Coghlan.
History
The Millrose Games were first held in a local armory in 1908, being organized by the employees of the Wanamaker Department Store's New York City branch. The employees formed the recreational Millrose Athletic Association. "Millrose" was the name of the country home of Rodman Wanamaker in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania. When this local armory overflowed, the Millrose Games were moved to Madison Square Garden in 1914.<ref name=":0" />
In 1915, the "Wanamaker 2 Mile Race" was held. From 1916 to 1925, the games' signature event was the 1.5 mile run. In 1925, the last edition of the "Wanamaker 1.5 Mile Race" was won by "Flying Finn" Paavo Nurmi, the nine-time Olympic gold medalist from Finland.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1926, the race was shortened to one mile, and thus the Wanamaker Mile was born.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> The winner of the 1926 race was James J. Connolly, who had represented the United States at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics.<ref name=":0"/>
In the 1929 Wanamaker, American athlete Ray Conger became the first and only athlete to defeat and upset "Flying Finn" Paavo Nurmi in the mile. Although Conger was modest about his win, he would be known as "the man who beat Nurmi" for decades.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The first time the Wanamaker Mile was won in a sub-four minute time was by American athlete Tony Waldrop in 1974, in 3:59.7.<ref name=":0" /> The first women's race for the Wanamaker Mile was held in 1982, and was won by Mary Decker.<ref name=":0"/>
The Wanamaker Mile was once held every year at 10:00 p.m., a tradition started by the legendary sports announcer Ted Husing. Husing would broadcast the race live on radio during the nightly news. In 2002, the mile was moved to 9 p.m. to accommodate television coverage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Madison Square Garden, which possessed a 146-meter track,<ref name=":0"/> was the venue for the race from 1914 until 2012, when it was moved to The Armory in Upper Manhattan,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a much faster 200-meter mondo track.<ref name=":0"/> Accompanying this venue change, the Millrose Games and therefore the Wanamaker Mile shifted from a Friday evening format to an all-day Saturday format.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 2018, the start time had been moved to late afternoon when it was nationally televised live on NBC.<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
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In the 2019 Wanamaker Mile, Yomif Kejelcha won in 3:48.46 to miss Hicham El Guerrouj's then-world record of 3:48.45 by just one hundredth of a second. Kejelcha would later go on to break El Guerrouj's indoor mile world record by almost 1.5 seconds in Boston, with a time of 3:47.01.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the 2023 Wanamaker Mile, Yared Nuguse ran an American record time of 3:47.38, missing Kejelcha's 3:47.01 mark by .37 seconds. In 2024, Nuguse defended his Wanamaker Mile title, in a time of 3:47.83, but did not run faster than he did in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2024 edition of the Wanamaker Mile at the 116th Millrose Games was held on Super Bowl Sunday (February 11), at 2:42 pm (women) and 2:53 pm (men).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the 2025 Wanamaker Mile, Nuguse broke Kejelcha's world record of 3:47.01, clocking a new world record of 3:46.63. Finishing behind Nuguse was Hobbs Kessler in 3:46.90, also under the previous record. Cameron Myers set a world under-20 record and Australian record of 3:47.48, while Azeddine Habz set a French record of 3:47.56, and Andrew Coscoran set an Irish record of 3:49.26.<ref name=":4" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nuguse's world record lasted for 5 days, until Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran 3:45.14 in Liévin, France.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sponsors
The sponsors of the Wanamaker Mile have varied over the years, with the NYRR often supporting the race.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2023, the Rudin family sponsored the event in the 115th Millrose Games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Records
In 2010, Bernard Lagat surpassed Eamonn Coghlan's record of seven Wanamaker Mile victories with his eighth victory.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Prior to Coghlan, Glenn Cunningham was among the first men to dominate the event, winning six out of seven Wanamaker Miles from 1933 to 1939.<ref name=":0"/>
Mary Decker, Doina Melinte and Regina Jacobs are all tied for most Wanamaker victories on the women's side, with three wins each.<ref name=":0"/>
The current men's event record in the Wanamaker Mile is held by American athlete Yared Nuguse, who ran a world record time of 3:46.63 in the 2025 Wanamaker Mile, improving Yomif Kejelcha's 2019 indoor mile world record of 3:47.01 by 0.38 seconds.<ref name=":4" />
The current women's event record in the Wanamaker Mile was set in 2024 by American athlete Elinor Purrier, with a time of 4:16.41, also the American record. Purrier had eclipsed her previous 2020 American record time of 4:16.85 during this race.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>
Annual champions
Key:
Template:Legend2Meet record (bolded)
Template:Legend21500 meter race (women only)
Men
Women
See also
- Mile run world record progression
- Four-minute mile
- Dicksonpokalen
- Dream Mile
- Emsley Carr Mile
- Bowerman Mile