Who is Elliot Giles? All about the British athlete who broke the Road Mile world record at the New Balance Kö Meile

Elliot Giles is a British middle-distance runner specializing in the 800m. By registering a record in the men's mile road on Sunday, he has taken the athletics world by storm.

Giles earned this career milestone after posting a breathtaking time of 3:51.3 at the New Balance Kö Meile on September 1, 2024, in Düsseldorf, Germany. He finished ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics 1500m bronze medalist Yared Nuguse and the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championship champion Vincent Keter, who posted times of 3:51.9 and 3:54.9, respectively.

The top two finishers in the mile road at the New Balance Kö Meile shattered the ratified world record of 3:56.13 registered by American runner Hobbs Kessler during the 2023 World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia. They also ran under the yet-to-ratified 3:54.6 mark set by Emmanuel Wanyonyi earlier this year.

The road mile was recognized as a world record event in September 2023.

Elliot Giles' performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Elliot Giles competes in the 800m final during the 2024 European Athletics Championships at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. (Photo via Getty Images)

Elliot Giles failed in his attempt to earn a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics after finishing ninth with 2:19.43 in the men's 800m at the 2024 UK Athletics Championships - the qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Games - at the Manchester Regional Arena in June.

Following the setback, the British middle-distance runner found himself in a camp in the Swiss mountains. While he was in Switzerland, he received a call to compete at the Olympics, following Jake Wightman's injury.

He clocked a decent time of 1:45.93 in the heats of the 800m at the Paris Games to earn a spot in the semifinal round. However, the 30-year-old didn't make it to the final, finishing fifth with a 1:45.46 in the semifinal round, ending his 2024 Olympic quest.

Elliot Giles' courageous comeback from a devastating motorbike crash

Elliot Giles' athletics journey is nothing short of inspiring. Born on May 26, 1994, he commenced his journey in the sport only after turning 16. His late-blooming journey was marked by a major hurdle at age 19.

The British athlete met with a potential career-ending motorbike crash in Birmingham, UK, sustaining a damaged posterior cruciate ligament, torn gluteal, a severe hematoma on his back, and brain damage. The tragic accident forced him to stay away from the track for two years.

Overcoming the physical and mental challenges, he started competing again in April 2015.

Elliot Giles' other achievements

Following his return to the sport, Elliot Giles claimed the silver medal in the 800m at the 2016 European Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands, clocking his personal best of 1:45.54 and earning a spot for the Rio Olympics. At the 2016 Games, he finished seventh in the heats.

Two years later, at the 2018 Athletics World Cup in London, he again secured a bronze medal in his pet event, posting a 1:47.40. Giles set another career milestone in 2021 by recording a British record in the 800m at the World Indoor Tour event in Poland.

The British athlete clocked 1:43.63, the second-fastest time ever indoors, to shatter the long-standing record of Seb Coe (1:44.91) set in 1983.