The first time anyone ever ran a record-setting two-mile race was in 1973. The first time anyone ever ran a competitive two-mile race was in 1852. In between, the time reduced from James Pudney’s 9:38.0 to Brendan Foster’s 8:13.8. In the fifty-odd years since Foster made the record books, it has reduced by only about 20 seconds. That hasn’t stopped Grant Fisher, Cooper Teare and Ky Robinson from believing they’ll join a list of two men to break sub-8 minutes.

Ahead of the Prefontaine Classic, an interviewer asked the three men, “Only been two guys, Jakob (Ingebrigtsen) and (Daniel) Komen, have broken eight minutes in this thing. Do you think the eight-minute barrier goes tomorrow?”

Cooper Teare kicked it off with a “Yes. Definitely,” followed by a quick nod from Ky Robinson before Grant Fisher issued a humorous “I can’t say no now, so I’ll say yes.” That, on its own, is rather surprising considering that all three men don’t run the 2-mile regularly. However, that isn’t to say that they are slouches, as Fisher holds two world records (5000m sh and 3000m sh).

And when Fisher has raced the 2-mile, he has thrived. In fact, the last time he ran the distance, the 29-year-old clocked 8:03.62, putting him within milliseconds of sub-8. It was, however, good enough to make the top seven all-time list for the distance. Robinson and Teare are behind him, with the former coming in at 8:08.40 (February 2026) while the latter clocked 8:08.91 (February 2026).

However, considering the season so far, that puts both men only about a second behind Cole Hocker’s 2026 world lead time (8:07.31). And what makes Teare and company so confident is the location: Hayward Field.

“When you get the chance to really get under the lights, I feel like it’s when Hayward kind of collapses on you, and it really feels like you’re in this little bubble, kind of this sphere of greatness,” Teare said during his press conference.

“I think it’s the makings of something that could be really good. There’s guys probably eyeing world records, many records across the board.”

Even then, there’s no denying it’ll be incredibly tough. To put things in perspective, Foster isn’t even that far behind current record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen (7:54.10). As of July 2026, he sits only 64 places behind the world No. 1, who set it almost fifty years after Foster made the books. The real kicker? He’s one of the only two people to ever break sub-8 minutes in the two-mile.

Daniel Komen (7:58.61) is the other and held the world record until Ingebrigtsen broke it in June 2026. Komen set it in July 1997, when he broke Haile Gebrselassie’s (8:01.08) time. In the three decades since, Sir Mo Farah (8:03.40) tried, as did Craig Mottram (08:03.50) and Kenenisa Bekele (08:04.35), but sub-8 seemed a dream.

Then Ingebrigtsen stepped up, raced the only two-mile of his career so far, and took home the world record. That made him a track and field unicorn on his own because the Norwegian was the only male distance runner since 2019 to crack the top 15.

Since then, Josh Kerr, Fisher, Hocker and Geordie Beamish have joined him with no other runner in the 2020s coming close. Even then, the trio’s confidence isn’t unfounded. Teare believes the depth in men’s distance running has reached a point where performances once considered untouchable are becoming increasingly realistic.

Cooper Teare believes that standards for the two-mile are rising

When Daniel Komen stepped up for his race on July 19, 1997, Haile Gebrselassie’s record loomed large over him. The then-21-year-old’s fastest was nearly three seconds behind Gebrselassie’s record. Then he stepped onto the track in Hechtel. Suddenly, he became the first man ever to break sub-8, demolishing Gebrselassie’s record by three seconds.

Nearly twenty-nine years later, only one man has managed to beat him. Even now, Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s feat is viewed as incredible, although standards are rising. More men have broken into the top thirty in the 2020s than in the 2010s, with Josh Kerr and Grant Fisher coming close.

For Cooper Teare, that growing depth has fundamentally changed the sport’s perception of what’s possible.

“I think there’s this thing where levels of possibility just continue to jump,” Teare explained. “Even just looking at world championship standards and things like that getting faster and faster, it’s like people rise to the occasion, and some of these things felt so far-fetched.

“And, you know, tomorrow night, five or ten guys could run under eight minutes, and then next thing you know, every time there is a two mile, that’s the standard. “

He added, “It’s really exciting to see how far the sport has come and how far the athletes have pushed it.”

Whether sub-eight falls or not, Fisher, Teare and Robinson have made one thing clear: they’re no longer treating it as an untouchable barrier. If Hayward delivers the race they’re expecting, the two-mile could leave with more than just a winner.