Josh Kerr Delivers for Scotland!

Josh Kerr Delivers for Scotland!

Josh Kerr is the Olympic bronze medalist at 1,500 meters from 2021. Last summer, in hot and humid Budapest, Josh Kerr achieved the plans of his coach, Danny Mackey, by challenging Jakob Ingebrigtsen five times in the last 300 meters, giving us the most exciting finish in a 1,500m since Pekka Vassala’s win in Munich 1972!

Kerr’s win was not a fluke. And it irritated the Norwegian, who, after Josh Kerr’s 2 mile indoor World record of 8:00.53 in Millrose, noted, “I could have beat him blindfolded.”

Well, no one in Glasgow could beat Josh Kerr by any method.

The pace was total roller derby on the fast new MONDO track. Kerr had to deal with Selemon Barega, World Champion over 10,000m and World Indoor Champion over 3,000m, who had run faster than Josh Kerr this season. He also had to deal with Yared Nuguse, AR holder at Mile, Indoor and out, and one dangerous kicker. Getnet Wale, Ethiopia’s steeplechase star, also had a faster 3,000m than Kerr. But, as Josh Kerr knew, none of that really mattered. This was about championship racing.

But here’s the deal, Josh Kerr wanted this badly. I recall the quote from the 1968 Olympic gold medalist at the decathlon, Bill Toomey. Toomey told me that the winner of most global medals is “the one who covets the medal the most.”

Josh Kerr was knocked around during the final. The term is jostled, but the Scot kept his cool. In the last kilometer, Olin Hacker, an NCAA 5,000m champion (like his father, Tim), charged to the front and shook it up. That increase in pace pushed the race into medal chasing, and Josh Kerr went outside and made his move.

Josh Kerr’s last 400m is, well, deadly. He ran 52.65 to distance himself from Selemon Barega. Barega did not notice that Yared Nuguse, coming from way back, passed Wale, and then Barega took the silver. Getnet Wale took the bronze, with Olin Hacker in fifth!

There is an art form to championship racing. Just because you can run fast with pacers does not mean you have any skills that must be developed to race at a championship level. Josh Kerr has those skills. Danny Mackey has helped him hone them. The better that Josh races, the more confident he gets.

In Glasgow, Hannah England, WC Moscow 2013 bronze medalist, commented on the 3000m on the WA broadcast. She was concerned that Josh Kerr was staying out of the fray so long…