Nick Symmonds set an American record in the mile on Tuesday with a time of 5:19. For those of you thinking that 5:19 isn’t very fast for an American record, there was a caveat: Symmonds’ race was a beer mile.
A beer mile is just like a regular mile, with the stipulation that each runner has to consume one 12 oz. can of beer before every lap. There are several other unofficial rules, according to Beermile.com, the most important of which is that anyone who throws up before finishing has to run an extra penalty lap.
Symmonds is no stranger to beer miling. He held the old American record of 5:31, which he set seven years ago. Though he missed the world record of 5:09, set by Canadian Jim Finlayson in 2007, Symmonds’ performance vaults him into third place all-time, according to Beermile.com.
The 28-year-old is also pretty good in races where he doesn’t have to chug a beer in between laps, as Symmonds finished fifth in the 800 meters at the London Olympics. He’s also won five straight national championships at 800 meters.
It’s safe to say that Symmonds enjoys the spotlight. At the start of the year, Symmonds made headlines for auctioning off ad space on his shoulder in the form of a temporary tattoo. He also invited heiress Paris Hilton to watch him compete at the Olympic Trials in June, after the two went on a date in Beverly Hills. Later in the summer, Symmonds and fellow U.S. runner Lolo Jones were barred from competing in a race in London after meet director Ian Stewart called them “liabilities” due to their views on athlete sponsorship.
There was no barring Symmonds from Tuesday’s beer mile however, as he was the only runner on an otherwise deserted track. Now Symmonds has been involved in a race in which an American record was broken (Tuesday) and a race in which the world record was broken (the Olympic final, in which Kenya’s David Rudisha ran 1:40.91 for 800 meters). Wonder which one he enjoyed more?
Photo via Twitter/NickSymmonds
Photo of the Night
Hey now, why don’t we leave the figure-four leg locking to “The Nature Boy,” Ric Flair.
Tweet of the Night
Yeah, I bet he could really thread the needle from the outfield.
Quote of the Night
“There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is
enough.’ For me, that time is now. Today I turn the page.”
— Lance Armstrong on dropping his lawsuit against the USDA
