Editor’s Notes: Stuart Weir has interviewed Josh Kerr over his medal performances and provides us with a long view of this fantastic Scottish runner!
Josh Kerr has told the world he will compete in the mile at the London Diamond League and wants to break the 27-year-old world record set by Hicham El Guerrouj! Hicham El Guerrouj ran 3:43.13 on July 7, 1999, in a spirited race with Noah Ngeny, who ran 3:43.40 that day!
Josh Kerr wants to run 222 seconds (3:42:00). His current best is 3:45.34! Brooks, Josh’s sponsor, and Josh are calling the attempt, #Project222!
Josh Kerr on his global medals
Tokyo Olympics 2021
In the prelims, Josh was 7th in 3:36.29, making the semis as a fastest non-automatic qualifier.
people around me, so I was pushing all the way to the line. I knew as soon as it said photo that I had lost it. I guess I could put it down to nerves, but it just wasn’t my day today. That really gives you a kick up the ass!”
The final 3rd in 3:29.05 (PR), Bronze medal
“I was just throwing everything I had at it, and I said that from the get-go. I got better by round and that’s the name of the game in this sport at the Olympic Games and any World Championships or major. I went out there to have some fun, had a smile on my face and I was hunting all day for a medal”.
World Championships 2023 Gold 1500m 3:29.38
“It has been a long time coming. It is quite an overwhelming experience, but I am so proud of myself. I was battling with Jakob pretty hard – you could see by my face that I was throwing everything I could at this guy. We were both hurting – I was just like ‘I have wanted this for my whole life, and I am not letting anyone get in the way of that’. With 50m to go, I kind of broke him, and it was just about holding form at that point”.
World Indoors 2024 Gold 3000m. Glasgow – 7:42.98
“I came in here without a solid plan. I was super fluid. I tried to keep a patient head, and I really stepped on it with 400m to go. It wasn’t the cleanest race, but I got it done, and I’m excited to know that I’m in a place where I can go out and compete for a win, whatever distance and whatever championship it is. It’s a very special feeling. I just didn’t want to shortchange anyone tonight, because I knew I had the support of all of Scotland and the UK. But I think I used more energy celebrating than I did in the race”.
Olympic Games 2024 Silver 1500m 3:27.79 [National Record]
“I can’t walk away from a championship disappointed. I said what my goals were, and it was pretty obvious, but I’ve put out a performance today that I can be super proud of. I ran the fastest and best tactical 1500m of my life, and when you start worrying about what other people do from the results, you’ll never be satisfied. It’s not the color of the medal I wanted, but it’s moving towards the right color, from bronze to silver. I just want to thank everyone on my team and the family members who supported me in getting me into a position to leave it all out there, and that’s what I did today.
“At 600 to go, I felt like I had quite a lot left, and I got pushed out slightly on the last bend. I had to work hard, got around Ingebrigtsen, but there was so much running left at that point, and it’s so hard to keep track of everyone in the last 100m. The result is what the result is, but I’m super proud of how I executed”.
World Indoors 2026 Gold 3000m 7:35.56
“This race didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, but racing is all about dealing with the situations you are put in. I have a lot of family here to support me, and I owe it to them. I ran the last 400m with passion. The last time I was in a speed suit was a few months ago, when I dragged my leg across the line [2025 Tokyo World Outdoors]. Today, a lot of demons were cracked, a resilient story for me today.”
“Whenever I put on a national vest, no one else can prove what I can do apart from me. It’s hard to wrap your head around it at times, but you just have to believe in yourself. I trust my coaching staff and my family; today’s performance shows them that their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed, either. I am going to enjoy this medal. I had won World outdoors and World indoors back-to-back, and I took it for granted. I thought I would be at the top of the sport for a long time, but after missing a couple of opportunities that I wanted, I am really going to enjoy this gold. It took a lot of work to be standing on the podium today.”
Josh KERR, 3000 Meters Men, GBR
Cole HOCKER, 3000 Meters Men, USA
Yann SCHRUB, 3000 Meters Men, FRA
Jacob KROP, 3000 Meters Men, KEN, photo by World Athletics
Hopes for the 2026 summer
2026 is definitely a year that you can go after times just because there’s no global outdoor championships, no Olympics, or anything like that. So that’s definitely a flexibility for everyone. I am not good at long-term planning. I get fixated on the next race, but when I have a discussion with my coaching staff, we’ll have something laid out, and then I’ll come out and present it and make sure everyone knows my goals and my racing schedule.
Since making that comment, he has confirmed that he will run the London Diamond as a possible World Record attempt.
