Josh Kerr (runner)

Josh Kerr (born 8 October 1997) is a Scottish middle-distance runner who competes primarily in the 1500 metres. A double World Champion, 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. 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 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. 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). 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. The following month, at age 17, he moved to Albuquerque and began competing for the University of New Mexico, majoring in exercise science.

Collegiate competition
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. 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. 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. 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.

2018–2020: Early professional career
Kerr turned professional in June 2018, foregoing his senior year of eligibility in the NCAA. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

2023: Gold medalist at World Championships
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.

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

Indoor Success: World Record & World Champion
In his first race of the year on 11 February, Kerr set a world record in the indoor 2 mile at the Millrose Games. His time of 8:00.67 surpassed the previous record of 8:03.40 held by Mo Farah since 2015.

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

Outdoors: British Mile Record
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.

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." This performance ranked Kerr as the sixth fastest miler in history.

Achievements
Information taken from World Athletics profile.

Personal bests

 * 800 metres – 1:45.35 (Azusa, CA 2019)
 * 800 metres indoor – 1:46.64 (Spokane, WA 2022)
 * 1500 metres – 3:29.05 (Tokyo 2021) ( Scottish)
 * 1500 metres indoor – 3:32.86 (Boston, MA 2022)
 * One mile – 3:45.34 (Eugene 2024)
 * One mile indoor – 3:48.87 (Boston, MA 2022) ( Scottish) (4th fastest indoor mile of all time)
 * 3000 metres – 8:35.15 (Bedford 2014)
 * 3000 metres indoor – 7:33.47 (New York, NY 2023) ( Scottish)
 * 5000 metres – 13:23.78 (Irvine, CA 2021)

Honours

 * Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year Nominee: 2024