Athletics: Record mile in prospect

The magical 3min 50sec mile barrier could be broken on March 13 when Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Nick Willis and British runner Andrew Baddeley go head to head in Christchurch.

John Walker created history in 1975 when he became the first runner to break 3min 50sec for the mile.

But it has yet to be run in New Zealand.

Walker ran a world record time of 3min 49.4sec at Gothenburg, Sweden, on August 12, 1975, and later reduced his time to 3min 49.08sec at Oslo in 1982.

Willis and his wife, Sierra, are based in Michigan.

The race will be held at Queen Elizabeth 2 Park, the venue of the famous world record 1500m clash at the 1974 Commonwealth Games when Filbert Bayi (Tanzania) beat Walker.

They both broke the world record.

Willis added to New Zealand's middle-distance tradition when he won a the bronze medal in the 1500m at the Beijing Olympics last year.

The Black Friday event will pit Willis against Baddeley, who ran the fastest mile in the world in 2008 with his time of 3min 49.38sec.

The men's international invitation mile has the potential to be the fastest mile run on New Zealand soil.

Walker holds the New Zealand resident and all-comers national record with the 3min 50.6sec he set in Auckland in 1981.

In addition to the prize money on offer, a bonus will be paid should Walker's record be broken.

Willis, the second-fastest New Zealand miler behind Walker, continued the long tradition that was started with Jack Lovelock at the Berlin Olympics in 1936 and cemented by greats Peter Snell and Walker.

John Davies (1964) and Rod Dixon (1972) also won Olympic bronze medals.

Willis knows he will be in for a tough race because Baddeley, who will be making his second visit to New Zealand, won the Mayoral Mile Race in Wanganui in 2007 when he beat Gareth Hyett, New Zealand's 13th-fastest miler, three years ago.

Baddeley ran the world's fastest time for the mile last year when he won the Dream Mile in 3min 49.38sec at Oslo in the Golden League competition.

He finished ninth in the 1500m at the Beijing Olympics and filled the same spot at the 2007 world championships at Osaka.

Willis was10th.

Willis claimed Walker's 30-year-old national 1500m record (3min 32.4sec set in Oslo in 1975) when he ran 3min 32.38sec in 2005 before lowering it to the current national record of 3min 32.17sec in July 2006.

Meet organisers are also confident of having several other nations represented to make this field truly international with elite athletes likely from Canada, Australia, Ireland and Great Britain.

Milestones
The fastest miles
3min 49.08sec, John Walker (NZ national record), Oslo (1982).
3min 50.6sec, John Walker (NZ all-comers record), Auckland (1981)
3min 50.6sec, John Walker (NZ resident record), Auckland (1981).
3min 49.38sec, Andrew Baddeley (UK), fastest time in 2008 and personal best time.
3min 50.66sec, Nick Willis (personal best).
3min 43.13sec, Hicham El Guerrouj, Morocco (world record), Rome (July 7, 1999).