 Kerr at the2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1997-10-08)8 October 1997 (age 28)[1] |
| Education | University of New Mexico[3] |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (187 cm)[1] |
| 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 | |
| Personalbests | |
Josh Kerr (born 8 October 1997)[4] is a Scottishmiddle-distance runner who competes primarily in the1500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the2023 World Championships, a silver medal at the2024 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the2020 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal at the2015 European Junior Championships. He is also the2024 World Indoor champion in the 3000 metres. Kerr holds theworld best time in the short track2 mile, and the British record in the outdoor1500 metres and mile.
Kerr competed for theUniversity 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 theBrooks Beasts Track Club. In 2023,Sportscotland named him Scottish sportsperson of the year.
Kerr was born on 8 October 1997 inEdinburgh, Scotland.[5] His mother works as a physiotherapist, and his father is a former rugby player. His older brotherJake is a professional rugby player. Kerr began running with the Edinburgh Athletics Club at the age of 8. He was educated atGeorge Watson’s College.[6] At 16, he started reaching out to athletic coaches at colleges in the United States, aiming to compete in theNational Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).[2][7] Kerr received several negative responses from coaches, except from the coach at theUniversity 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 the2015 European Athletics Junior Championships.[2] The following month, at age 17, he moved toAlbuquerque and began competing for the University of New Mexico, majoring inexercise science.[3]
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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, defeatingEdward Cheserek, the collegiate record holder in the event and a 15-time NCAA champion.[2] In June 2017, Kerr secured a second national title by winning the outdoor 1500 m, becoming the first man sinceLeo 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, surpassingSydney Maree's 1981 record of 3:35.30.[9] This record stood for 3 years and 24 days, until it was broken byYared Nuguse in May 2021. Kerr's final collegiate race was in June 2018, where he finished third in the 1500 m at theNCAA Championships.[10]
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Kerr turned professional in June 2018, forgoing his senior year of eligibility in the NCAA.[11] He signed a sponsorship deal withBrooks Sports, a Seattle-based company, to train under coach Danny Mackey as part of theBrooks Beasts Track Club. The Scotsman divided his training time between Seattle and Albuquerque. In August 2019, he participated in the 1500 m at theBritish Athletics Championships, where he secured a silver medal, finishing behindNeil Gourley. This performance qualified him to represent Britain in the 1500 m at the2019 World Championships later that month, where he placed sixth in the final.[12]
In May 2021, Kerr set a personal best of 1:45.74 in the800 metres. The following month, he won his first National title in the 1500 m at theBritish Championships.[13] This victory secured his spot to represent the British team at the2020 Summer Olympics inTokyo, which were rescheduled to 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. At theOlympic 1500 m final, Kerr won a Bronze medal in a personal best of 3:29.05, finishing behind Norway'sJakob Ingebrigtsen and Kenya'sTimothy Cheruiyot.[14]
On 27 February 2022, Kerr ran 3:48.87 for the indoor mile at the Boston University Last Chance Meet. This performance brokeEamonn Coghlan's European indoor mile record, which had stood since 1983, andPeter 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 the2022 World Athletics Championships inEugene, Oregon. He finished in 5th place with a time of 3:30.60.[17]
On 23 August 2023, Kerr defeated Norwegian favoriteJakob Ingebrigtsen in the final of the 1500 metres at the2023 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 compatriotJake Wightman's victory inEugene in 2022.[18]
Later that month, on 31 August 2023, Kerr competed in theDiamond 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 theNew Balance 5th Avenue Mile, clocking a time of 3:47.9.[20] He ended the year ranked third in theWorld Athletics Rankings for the 1500 m, behind Ingebrigtsen and Nuguse.[21] He was named Scottish sportsperson of the year in 2023 bySportscotland.[22]
In his first race of the year on 11 February, Kerr set a world best in the short track2 mile at theMillrose Games.[23][note 1] His time of 8:00.67 surpassed the previous world best of 8:03.40 held byMo Farah since 2015.
On 2 March, Kerr ran 7:42.98 for3000 metres to claim gold at theWorld Athletics Indoor Championships inGlasgow, Scotland.[24]
On 20 April, Kerr opened his outdoor season in the Pro Men's800 m Challenge at theOregon Relays, winning in a time of 1:45.94.[25]
On 25 May, at thePrefontaine Classic, Kerr won theBowerman Mile in a newBritish record time of 3:45.34, ahead of Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:45.60) and Yared Nuguse (3:46.22). This eclipsedSteve 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 the2024 British Athletics Championships in late June, Kerr chose to compete in the 800m. In the final, Kerr finished in last after colliding withElliot Giles on the home straight.[28] Just days earlier it was announced that he had signed up for the inaugural season of theMichael Johnson foundedGrand Slam Track in 2025.[29]
On 5 July, Kerr was selected to race in 1500 metres at the2024 Summer Olympics.[30][31] Just before the athletics events got underway, he was also named as the Great Britain athletics team captain for the Games inParis.[32][33][34] The final at these Games was anticipated because of Kerr's rivalry with fellow European middle-distance runnerJakob Ingebrigtsen.[35]
On 6 August, in theOlympic men's 1500 metre final, Kerr unexpectedly finished second toCole Hocker of theUnited States in a sprint finish. Kerr nearly got caught at the finish line by AmericanYared Nuguse who finished third, whileJakob 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 newOlympic record andNorth American area record of 3:27.65. Kerr's time to secure the silver medal was a new personal best and newBritish national record of 3:27.79, breakingMo 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.[36][37][38]
On 8 September, Kerr won theFifth Avenue Mile inNew York City, running a new course record of 3:44.3. This eclipsedSydney Maree's previous record of 3:47.52 by more than three seconds, which had stood for 43 years, since the inaugural edition of the race in 1981. Kerr had previously won the race in 2023 as well, in a time of 3:47.9.[39][40]
In October, Kerr was named Scottish Athletics' athlete of the year.[41]
In February, Kerr intended to compete in theWanamaker Mile at theMillrose Games, but dropped out due to illness.[42] In April, he finished seventh overall in the Short Distance event group at the2025 Kingston Slam. In May, at the2025 Miami Slam, with 16 points earned, Kerr was crowned Slam Champion of the Short Distance event group, having won the 1500 metres, and having finished fifth in the 800 metres, in a new personal best of 1:45.01.[43]
In July, Kerr finished second toPhanuel Koech in the 1500 metres at theLondon Athletics Meet.[44] In August, he became theBritish 5000 metres champion after winning the title at the2025 UK Athletics Championships.[45]
In September, at the2025 World Athletics Championships, Kerr sustained a right calf injury in the final of the1500 metres.[46]
Information taken fromWorld Athletics profile.[4]
| Grand Slam Track results[47] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slam | Race group | Event | Pl. | Time | Prize money |
| 2025 Kingston Slam | Short distance | 1500 m | 5th | 3:35.61 | US$12,500 |
| 800 m | 8th | 1:50.68 | |||
| 2025 Miami Slam | Short distance | 1500 m | 1st | 3:34.51 | US$100,000 |
| 800 m | 5th | 1:45.01 | |||
| 2025 Philadelphia Slam | Short distance | 800 m | 5th | 1:45.80 | US$50,000 |
| 1500 m | 1st | 3:34.44 | |||
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 6th | 1500 m | 3:32.52 | Great Britain & N.I. |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 3rd | 1500 m | 3:29.05 |  Great Britain |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 5th | 1500 m | 3:30.60 | Great Britain & N.I. |
| Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 12th | 1500 m | 3:35.72 |  Scotland | |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | 1500 m | 3:29.38 | Great Britain & N.I. |
| 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 | |
| 2025 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 14th | 1500 m | 4:11.23 | Great Britain |
| Category | Event | Time | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor | 800 m | 1:45.01 | Miramar | 3 May 2025 | |
| 1000 m | 2:17.60 | Finn Rock | 17 July 2020 | ||
| 1500 m | 3:27.79 | Paris | 6 August 2024 | British Record | |
| Mile | 3:45.34 | Eugene | 25 May 2024 | British Record | |
| 3000 m | 8:35.15 | Bedford | 31 August 2014 | ||
| 5000 m | 13:23.78 | Irvine | 15 May 2021 | ||
| Indoor | 800 m | 1:46.64 | Spokane | 11 February 2022 | |
| 1500 m | 3:32.86+ | Boston | 27 February 2022 | ||
| Mile | 3:48.87 | Scottish Record | |||
| 3000 m | 7:30.14+ | New York City | 11 February 2024 | Scottish Record | |
| Two Miles | 8:00.67 | World Best |
|
