Australian 800m champion James Kaan has improved his personal best over the mile to 3:57.70 in finishing seventh in the Emsley Carr mile at the London Diamond League meeting.
In a race where the field was towed through in single file after the pacemakers covered the first 400m in 55.51 seconds, 20-year-old Kaan was positioned towards the rear of the field during the early stages. With the field separating into two towards the business end of the race, Kaan raced assertively over the final lap, to take close to half a second off his previous personal best, set last month in Ireland.
The race was taken out by US champion Leo Manzano, who outkicked Bernard Lagat and Augustine Choge for the win in 3:51.24. Ryan Gregson, who positioned himself mid-field during the early and middle stages of the race, faded over the final lap to finish ninth in 4:01.60.
The Emsley Carr mile was inaugurated in 1953 to encourage the breaking of the four minute mile and since then has been won by the who's who of global miling.
