Josh Kerr (runner)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Josh Kerr
File:2019 Millrose Games (40204870493) (cropped2).jpg
Kerr at the 2019 Millrose Games
Personal information
Born (1997-10-08) 8 October 1997 (age 27)
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom[1]
Education University of New Mexico[2]
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Sport
Country Great Britain & N.I.
Scotland
Sport Athletics
Event(s) 1500 metres, Mile
College team New Mexico Lobos
Club Brooks Beasts Track Club
Edinburgh AC
Coached by Danny Mackey (2018–)
Joe Franklin (2015–2018)
Mark Pollard (2015)
David Campbell (–2015)
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 1500 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Budapest 1500 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Glasgow 3000 m
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Eskilstuna 1500 m

Josh Kerr (born 8 October 1997)[4] is a British middle-distance runner who competes primarily in the 1500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2023 World Championships, a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships. Indoors he is the 2024 World Indoor champion in the 3000 metres. He holds the world record time in the indoor 2 mile and the European record in the indoor mile, along with the British record in the outdoor 1500m and mile.

Kerr competed for the University of New Mexico from 2015 to 2018, where he was a three-time NCAA champion. He set a collegiate record in the 1500 m in April 2017 that stood until May 2021. Kerr turned professional in 2018 to compete for the Brooks Beasts Track Club. In 2023, Sportscotland named him Scottish sportsperson of the year.

Early life and background

Josh Kerr was born on 8 October 1997 in Edinburgh, Scotland.[5] His mother works as a physiotherapist, and his father is a former rugby player. His older brother Jake is a professional rugby player. Kerr began running with the Edinburgh Athletics Club at the age of 8. He was educated at George Watson’s College.[6] At 16, he started reaching out to athletic coaches at colleges in the United States, aiming to compete in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).[1][7] Kerr received several negative responses from coaches, except from the coach at the University of New Mexico, who offered the teenager a full athletics scholarship. In the summer before he started college, Kerr won gold in the 1500 m at the 2015 European Athletics Junior Championships.[1] The following month, at age 17, he moved to Albuquerque and began competing for the University of New Mexico, majoring in exercise science.[2]

Collegiate competition

File:2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships (42736816391).jpg
Kerr (centre) in the 1500 metres at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships

While at the University of New Mexico, Kerr won three NCAA titles and set the collegiate record in the 1500 m. In March 2017, he won his first national title in the indoor mile, defeating Edward Cheserek, the collegiate record holder in the event and a 15-time NCAA champion.[1] In June 2017, Kerr secured a second national title by winning the outdoor 1500 m, becoming the first man since Leo Manzano in 2008 to achieve both the indoor mile and the outdoor 1500 m titles in the same year.[8] He repeated his success in the indoor mile in March 2018, claiming another national title. On 20 April 2018, Kerr broke the collegiate record in the 1500 m with a time of 3:35.01, surpassing Sydney Maree's 1981 record of 3:35.30.[9] This record stood for 3 years and 24 days, until it was broken by Yared Nuguse in May 2021. Kerr's final collegiate race was in June 2018, where he finished third in the 1500 m at the NCAA Championships.[10]

Professional competition

2018–2020: Early professional career

Kerr turned professional in June 2018, forgoing his senior year of eligibility in the NCAA.[11] He signed a sponsorship deal with Brooks Sports, a Seattle-based company, to train under coach Danny Mackey as part of the Brooks Beasts Track Club. The Scotsman divided his training time between Seattle and Albuquerque. In August 2019, he participated in the 1500 m at the British Athletics Championships, where he secured a silver medal, finishing behind Neil Gourley. This performance qualified him to represent Britain in the 1500 m at the 2019 World Championships later that month, where he placed sixth in the final.[12]

2021: Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist

In May 2021, Kerr set a personal best of 1:45.74 in the 800 metres. The following month, he won his first national championship in the 1500 m for Great Britain.[13] This victory secured his spot to represent the British team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were rescheduled to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Olympic 1500 m final, Kerr won a Bronze medal in a personal best of 3:29.05, finishing behind Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Kenya's Timothy Cheruiyot.[14]

2022: European record in indoor mile

On 27 February 2022, Kerr ran 3:48.87 for the indoor mile at the Boston University Last Chance Meet. This performance broke Eamonn Coghlan's European indoor mile record, which had stood since 1983, and Peter Elliot’s British indoor mile record from 1990. Additionally, Kerr's 1500 m split of 3:32.86 enroute to the finish set a new British national record for the indoor 1500 m, surpassing Elliot’s previous record.[15][16] In July, the Scotsman competed in the 1500 m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He finished in 5th place with a time of 3:30.60.[17]

2023: Gold medalist at World Championships

File:Josh Kerr Budapest 2023.png
Kerr reacts after winning the 1500 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championship

On 23 August 2023, Kerr defeated Norwegian favorite Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the final of the 1500 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. It was the second successive World Championship where Ingebrigtsen was upset in the final of the 1500 metres by an athlete from Edinburgh Athletic Club, following teammate and compatriot Jake Wightman's victory in Eugene in 2022.[18]

Later that month, on 31 August 2023, Kerr competed in the Diamond League Final for the 1500 m, aiming to break the British record.[19] He finished second to Yared Nuguse in a time of 3:30.51. This mark was 1.7 seconds off the national record.

In his final race of the season on 10 September 2023, Kerr won the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile, clocking a time of 3:47.9.[20] He ended the year ranked third in the World Athletics Rankings for the 1500 m, behind Ingebrigtsen and Nuguse.[21] He was named Scottish sportsperson of the year in 2023 by Sportscotland.[22]

File:Josh Kerr Glasgow 2024.jpg
Kerr at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships

2024

Indoor Success: World Best & World Champion

In his first race of the year on 11 February, Kerr set a world best in the indoor 2 mile at the Millrose Games.[23][note 1] His time of 8:00.67 surpassed the previous world best of 8:03.40 held by Mo Farah since 2015.

On 2 March, Kerr ran 7:42.98 for 3000 metres to claim gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.[24]

Outdoors: British 1500m and Mile Records, 1500m Silver Medalist

On 20 April, Kerr opened his outdoor season in the Pro Men's 800m Challenge at the Oregon Relays, winning in a time of 1:45.94.[25]

On 25 May, at the Prefontaine Classic, Kerr won the Bowerman Mile in a new British record time of 3:45.34, ahead of Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:45.60) and Yared Nuguse (3:46.22). This eclipsed Steve Cram's previous British record of 3:46.32 by almost a full second. The race was a highly anticipated rematch between Kerr and Ingebrigtsen, and as such was billed as the "Mile of the Century."[26] This performance ranked Kerr as the sixth fastest miler in history.[27]

At the 2024 British Athletics Championships, Kerr chose to compete in the 800m. In the final, Kerr finished in last after colliding with Elliot Giles on the home straight.[28] In the weeks leading up to the meet, Kerr confirmed that he would be competing in 800 and 1,500 metres event group in the upcoming year's Grand Slam Track league.

On 5 July, Kerr was selected to race in 1500 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[29][30] Just before the athletics events got underway, he was also named as the Great Britain athletics team captain for the Games in Paris.[31][32][33] The final at these Games was anticipated because of Kerr's rivalry with fellow European middle-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen.[34]

On 6 August, in the Olympic men's 1500 metre final, Kerr unexpectedly finished second to Cole Hocker of the United States in a sprint finish. Kerr nearly got caught at the finish line by American Yared Nuguse who finished third, while Jakob Ingebrigtsen uncharacteristically finished fourth and had led for nearly the entire race at a fast pace. In the final stretch, Ingebrigtsen was initially leading, and was passed by Kerr, while behind the two was Hocker. However, when he had room, Hocker passed Ingebrigtsen & Kerr using his notorious kick to win the race in a new Olympic record and North American area record of 3:27.65. Kerr's time to secure the silver medal was a new personal best and new British national record of 3:27.79, breaking Mo Farah's previous British record of 3:28.81 by over a second. Nuguse was one hundredth of a second behind Kerr in a new personal best of 3:27.80, while Ingebrigtsen finished in 3:28.24.[35][36]

Achievements

Information taken from World Athletics profile.[4]

International competitions

Representing  Great Britain
Year Competition Venue Position Event
2015 European Junior Championships Eskilstuna, Sweden 1st 1500 m 3:49.62  Great Britain
2016 World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 10th 1500 m 3:51.23  Great Britain
European Cross Country Championships Chia, Italy 14th Junior race 17:38  Great Britain
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 34th (h) 1500 m 3:47.30  Great Britain & N.I. (GBR)
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 6th 1500 m 3:32.52  Great Britain & N.I. (GBR)
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 3rd 1500 m 3:29.05  Great Britain (GBR)
2022 World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 5th 1500 m 3:30.60  Great Britain & N.I. (GBR)
Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom 12th 1500 m 3:35.72  Scotland (SCO)
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st 1500 m 3:29.38  Great Britain & N.I. (GBR)
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, Scotland 1st 3000 m 7:42.98  Great Britain
Olympic Games Paris, France 2nd 1500 m 3:27.79  Great Britain (GBR)

Personal bests

Honours

Notes

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

External links

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. On May 25, Josh Kerr competed in the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic held in Eugene, Oregon. He won the race with a time of 3:45.34, outpacing a competitive field that included notable athletes such as Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Jake Wightman, and Yared Nuguse.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.


Cite error: <ref> tags exist for a group named "note", but no corresponding <references group="note"/> tag was found, or a closing </ref> is missing

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Josh_Kerr_(runner)&oldid=727576827"