The third annual FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships are returning to the Austin American-Statesman on Dec. 17, 2016. Both the men's and women's world records were broken at the Statesman last December. Erin O'Mara will be back to defend her world record and world championship, while world record holder Corey Bellemore will make his World Championships debut.

All races will be live and all-access on FloTrack for free. You can watch it on your big screen on our Roku or Apple TV apps, too. Six of the nine fastest men ever in the beer mile and four of the seven fastest women ever will be competing in Austin; full fields to date can be found below.

O'Mara still has the women's world record at 6:08, and her record will certainly be under assault on Dec. 17. According to Beermile.com, six of the top seven women's beer miles of all time were run at the first two FloTrack Beer Mile Worlds. O'Mara said, "I can't wait to get back to Austin to run another beer mile. I love the event and love the city, and can't wait to race against the best beer milers on the planet and see if we can lower the world record."

When Lewis Kent ran a world-record 4:47 in a thrilling race over Corey Gallagher (4:48) in Austin last year, it made them the first two men to run a beer mile under 4:50. Both men are Canadian, and in 2016, a third Canadian has pushed the sport to new levels. In two races this summer, Corey Bellemore lowered the world record from Kent's 4:47 to 4:39 and then a nearly unthinkable 4:34. The 4:34 was less than a week after the 4:39 and only Bellemore's fourth beer mile ever. Kent is looking forward to defending his title and racing Bellemore, saying "The sport has come a long way since last year. I won't be returning as the favorite, but experience means a lot in the beer mile and come race day I'll be ready to roll."

Bellemore is a senior at the University of Windsor. He recently finished 7th at the Canadian CIS cross country championships, and has the best track speed in the field with a 1:47 800m best. He'll be in Austin gunning for his first world title: "After watching the FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships the past two years, it's going to be a cool experience to finally compete. Beer miles are definitely still new to me, but I'll be ready to get after and have fun with this one in December," Bellemore said.

Beer miling is a simple sport: four beers, four laps. Athletes have to down their 12-ounce beer before each quarter-mile lap; if at any point they have what's known as a "reversal of fortune," they must take a penalty lap.

This is what world-class beer miling looks like:





But there will be opportunities for the average, aspiring, and rookie beer milers. A series of heats open to the public--register here--will precede the world championship finals. Last year, 81-year-old Elvira Montez ran a beer mile in 20:25, beating both of her children. And one of the most entertaining parts of the evening is the 4x400 meter beer relay. Get together four friends, we'll provide four beers, and let's see who can get to the finish line first. 

The event begins at 1:00 PM Central on Saturday, Dec. 17 at the Austin American-Statesman in downtown Austin.

Confirmed elite men	Beer mile PR	All-time rank
Corey Bellemore	4:34.35	1
Lewis Kent	4:47.17	2
Corey Gallagher	4:48.62	5
Garrett Cullen	4:54.5	6
Philippe Parrot-Migas	4:55.53	7
Josh Harris	4:56.2	9
Chris Robertson	5:02.0	12
Brian Anderson	5:05.2	13
Michael Johnson	5:06.0	14
Michael Cunningham	5:07.9	15

Confirmed elite women	Beer mile PR	All-time rank
Erin O'Mara	6:08.0	1
Andrea Fisher	6:28.2	3
Chris Kimbrough	6:28.6	4
Caitlin Batten	6:41.0	7
Anne Belanger	6:50.78	11
Elizabeth Laseter	6:53.0	13
Susie Rivard	7:01.01	15