Beer Mile World Classic Men's Preview 2019

The Beer Mile World Classic is just one month away (August 3 in Berlin, Germany), so it's time to discuss who the contenders—and pretenders—are for this year's beer mile world championship. This year's race is especially tough to predict because there have been few beer mile race results so far in 2019. We have yet to see any of the top entrants attempt a fast time in preparation for worlds, so we have to predict based on historic performances and some Instagram / Strava stalking of the competitors' training these past few months.

Update on August 4, 2019 - Link to Results: Beer Mile World Classic 2019 Results and Race Videos

Top Entrants for the Beer Mile World Classic 2019 Men's Field

Any way you look at it, the field is stacked. Nine of the top ten men all time will be in attendance. In addition, there is some fresh blood new to the Beer Mile World Classic scene that we will see throw down for the first time. Here are the known entrants for this year's race with the fastest personal bests.

Who will be crowned this year's beer mile world champion?

Corey Bellemore

This is the obvious choice. Canadian Corey Bellemore has gone untouched since he emerged onto the beer mile scene in 2016 when he ran 4:39 and set the world record in his first ever beer mile during a time trial. A couple of days later, he won the 2016 Beer Mile World Classic in another world record time of 4:34. In 2017, he continued his display of dominance and consistency with another world record of 4:33 during half time of professional soccer match in San Francisco.

Aside from a disqualification at the 2018 Beer Mile World Classic, Corey has gone undefeated. Even his DQ at the 2018 championship race shocked the beer mile world as we witnessed him finish in a time of 4:24. Although he had slightly over the legal amount of foam left in his beers, that time exceeded what most of the community thought possible for a beer mile.    

Corey has continued to get faster on the track as a professional athlete for Adidas and will surely bring the same consistency we've seen the past 3 years. It will likely take a pretty catastrophic mistake from Corey for anyone in the field to beat him.

Dale Clutterbuck

Dale "King" Clutterbuck currently sits at #3 on the all-time world list and has the European record with a time of 4:47. He also holds impressive times on the track sans beer with a 3:38 1500m personal best. He is the defending world champion with his win at the 2018 Beer Mile World Classic in Vancouver, BC. In 2017, he broke the Chunder Mile World Record with a time of 4:57. We don't know where his training is at this year, but with his raw speed you can never count him out. 

Chris Robertson

American Chris Robertson currently stands at #2 in the world with a 4:46 beer mile and is the American record holder. He won the 2017 Beer Mile World Classic title in London in a close battle with Dale Clutterbuck. He doesn't have the track speed that Corey and Dale do, but can make up for it with the technique through the chugging zone. 

Or will it be a dark horse?

The beer mile is about as unpredictable as races come. Both the foot speed and digestive tract need to be operating at max capacity on race day. If one fails, the race can quickly turn sideways. The wide array of possible outcomes is what builds so much anticipation around the event.

Our top prospect for a dark horse win is American Jacob Dumford. He has been lighting fires on the track in 2019 and set a new 1500m personal best of 3:39. He ran a solo 5:13 beer mile in 2018 and this will be his first legit beer mile race. If he has any sort of drinking technique at all, he certainly has the speed to contend for the title. 

Previous Men's Beer Mile World Classic Individual Champions

Which country will bring home the team title?

The 2019 Beer Mile World Classic is expected to bring representation from more countries than ever before, including Canada, USA, Australia, Sweden, Germany, England, Norway, and Ireland. However, we are expecting continued dominance from the Canadian and USA teams. The race is scored cross country style by counting the places of the best 3 runners from each country. The lowest point total wins.

Team Canada is positioned well to re-claim the title from Team USA and prevent the 3-peat thanks to front-runner Corey Bellemore and a slew of men that should run right around the 5-minute barrier, including Phil Parrot-Migas, Lewis Kent, Corey Gallagher, and Jim Finlayson. Having Corey Bellemore as a front runner is also a huge help with other countries' runners, like Dale Clutterbuck, potentially displacing the USA men. 

Team USA could certainly pull off the 3-peat if the crew brings its A-game. Chris Robertson, Garrett Cullen, and Brandon Shirck have consistently placed at the top of the race over the past few years. The addition of potential dark horse Jacob Dumford also sets them up to have three to four men under the 5-minute barrier. We are pretty confident that Canada and the USA will go 1-2 yet again this year. 

The dark horse team that should round out the podium is Sweden. These men always show up strong, both at the race and at the after party. They don't have the front runners that Canada and the USA do, but they can be counted on to finish their beers and set personal bests come race day.

Previous Men's Beer Mile World Classic Team Champions

About the Beer Mile World Classic

Join the event on Facebook to view the live stream: https://www.facebook.com/events/2588706424473716/

The Beer Mile World Classic is the annual showdown that brings out the best beer milers around the world to crown the king and queen of the beer mile. There is also a team competition to determine which country will go down in history as the superior beer-guzzling, track running alpha. The race is scored cross country style by counting the places of the best 3 runners from each country. The lowest point total wins.

The Beer Mile World Classic has consistently brought out the top beer mile talent internationally, including world record setting performances. This year will be no different, with the majority of the fastest beer milers in history expected to be in attendance. Past Beer Mile World Classic individual and team champions are shown below.

Event summary from the Beer Mile World Classic website

Part beer festival, part track meet, part awe-inspiring athletic spectacle.

Join us for a day of drinking, running and revelry as we witness top athletes from around the globe compete for world records and national titles in the most extreme track event known to man. 

Your entry ticket gets you a tasting flight of craft brews, optional entry into an all-comers beer mile, and a front row seat to the championship races.