Josh Kerr
Kerr at the 2019 Millrose Games
Personal information
Born (1997-10-08) 8 October 1997
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom[1]
EducationUniversity of New Mexico[2]
Sport
CountryGreat Britain & N.I.
Scotland
SportTrack and field
Event(s)1500 metres, Mile
College teamNew Mexico Lobos
ClubBrooks Beasts Track Club
Edinburgh AC
Coached byDanny Mackey (2018–)
Joe Franklin (2015–2018)
Mark Pollard (2015)
David Campbell (–2015)
Achievements and titles
Personal best
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2020 Tokyo1500 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2023 Budapest1500 m
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2015 Eskilstuna1500 m

Josh Kerr (born 8 October 1997)[3] is a Scottish middle-distance runner who competes primarily in the 1500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2023 World Championships, a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships. He holds the European record in the indoor mile, with a time of 3:48.87.

Kerr competed for the University of New Mexico from 2015 to 2018, where he was a three-time NCAA champion. He set a national 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.[4] 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. 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][5] 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.[6]

Collegiate Competition

Kerr (center) 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.[7] 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.[8] 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 Outdoor Championships.[9]

Professional competition

2018 – 2020: Early professional career

Kerr turned professional in June 2018, foregoing his senior year of edibility in the NCAA.[10] 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 6th in the final.[11]

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 Britain.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14][15] 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.[16]

2023: Gold Medalist at World Championships

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.[17]

Later that month, on August 31, 2023, Kerr competed in the Diamond League Final for the 1500 m, aiming to break the British record.[18] 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.[19] He ended the year ranked third in the World Athletics Rankings for the 1500 m, behind Ingebrigtsen and Nuguse.[20] He was named Scottish sportsperson of the year in 2023 by Sportscotland.[21]

International competitions

Representing  Great Britain &  Scotland
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventResultTeam
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)

Personal bests

Information taken from World Athletics profile.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Gretschel, Johanna (20 March 2017). "NCAA Mile Champion Josh Kerr Is Living The American Dream". FloTrack. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  2. ↑ New Mexico Lobos bio
  3. ↑ "Josh KERR – Athlete profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  4. ↑ Barraclough, Alice (23 August 2023). "5 things you should know about 1500m World Champ Josh Kerr". Runner's World. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Ingle, Sean (24 August 2023). "Britain's new champion Josh Kerr stirs memories of Coe, Cram and Ovett". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Josh Kerr". University of New Mexico Lobos athletics. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  7. ↑ LetsRun.com (9 June 2017). "2017 NCAA Distance Recap: Three Big-Time Talents Win Their First NCAA Outdoor Titles - Grant Fisher, Josh Kerr and Emmanuel Korir". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Sully, Kevin (18 April 2018). "Josh Kerr Smashes NCAA 1500m Record! - FloTrack". www.flotrack.org. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  9. ↑ LetsRun.com (8 June 2018). "Recap of NCAA Distance Drama: Saruni and Kerr Upset, Barraza Falls in Steeple, McGorty Gets Title". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Chester, Jared (18 June 2018). "UNM All-American Track Star, Josh Kerr turns pro". KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  11. ↑ LetsRun.com (6 October 2019). "Timothy Cheruiyot DOMINATES Men's 1500 and Wins First World Title in 3:29.26". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  12. ↑ "Four Scots secure Olympic places". BBC Sport. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  13. ↑ "Tokyo Olympics: GB's Josh Kerr takes 1500m bronze as Jakob Ingebrigtsen beats Timothy Cheruiyot to gold". BBC Sport. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  14. ↑ Hatler, Chris (3 March 2022). "These 5 Mental Strategies Propelled Josh Kerr to a European Record". Runner's World. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  15. ↑ Woods, Mark (28 February 2022). "Josh Kerr smashes two records in one". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  16. ↑ Gault, Jonathan. "Dreams Become Reality: Jake Wightman Stuns Jakob Ingebrigtsen to Win World 1500m Title". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "Britain's Kerr stuns Ingebrigtsen to take world gold". BBC Sport. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  18. ↑ Gault, Jonathan (31 August 2023). "6 Thoughts on 2023 Zurich DL: Nuguse's Incredible Diamond League Season, Fisher Is Back, & More". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  19. ↑ Monti, David (10 September 2023). "Josh Kerr, Jemma Reekie Make For Scottish Sweep At Fifth Avenue Mile - FloTrack". www.flotrack.org. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  20. ↑ "World Rankings for Men's 1500m (Mile-2000m-Mile Road) as of 2023-12-29". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  21. ↑ "World champion Josh Kerr takes two top Scottish awards as Katie Archibald also wins". BBC Sport. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  22. ↑ Henderson, Jason (12 February 2023). "Millrose magic for Scottish middle-distance runners". AW. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
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