Josh Kerr (runner) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Josh Kerr

Kerr at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships
Personal information
Born	(1997-10-08) 8 October 1997 (age 28) Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Education	University of New Mexico
Height	6 feet 2 inches (187 cm)
Sport
Country	Great Britain & N.I. Scotland
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	1500 metres, Mile
Club	Brooks Beasts Track Club Edinburgh AC
Coached by	Danny Mackey (2018–) Joe Franklin (2015–2018) Mark Pollard (2015) David Campbell (–2015)

Josh Kerr (born 8 October 1997) is a Scottish middle-distance runner. He holds the mile world record. In the 1500 metres, Kerr won a gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, and a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

As a younger athlete, Kerr won gold at the 2015 European Athletics Junior Championships. He is also the 2024 and 2026 world indoor champion in the 3000 metres. He holds the world best time for the short-track two miles and the British record in the 1500 metres.

Kerr competed for the University of New Mexico from 2015 to 2018. During this time, he won three national college titles. He became a professional runner in 2018 and joined the Brooks Beasts Track Club. In 2023, Sportscotland named him the Scottish Sportsperson of the Year.

Early Life and Running Start

Josh Kerr was born on 8 October 1997 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His mother is a physiotherapist, and his father played rugby. His older brother, Jake, is also a professional rugby player.

Josh started running with the Edinburgh Athletics Club when he was eight years old. He attended George Watson’s College. At 16, he began looking for college coaches in the United States. He wanted to compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Many coaches said no, but the coach at the University of New Mexico offered him a full scholarship.

Before starting college, Kerr won a gold medal in the 1500 m at the 2015 European Athletics Junior Championships. The next month, at age 17, he moved to Albuquerque. He began running for the University of New Mexico and studied exercise science.

College Running Success

Kerr (centre) 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. He also set a college record in the 1500 m. In March 2017, he won his first national title in the indoor mile. He beat Edward Cheserek, who was a 15-time NCAA champion.

In June 2017, Kerr won a second national title in the outdoor 1500 m. He was the first man since Leo Manzano in 2008 to win both the indoor mile and outdoor 1500 m in the same year. Kerr won the indoor mile again in March 2018.

On 20 April 2018, Kerr broke the college record in the 1500 m. His time was 3:35.01, beating Sydney Maree's 1981 record. This record lasted for over three years. Yared Nuguse broke it in May 2021. Kerr's last college race was in June 2018, where he finished third in the 1500 m.

Professional Running Career

Starting as a Pro (2018–2020)

Kerr at the 2019 Millrose Games

Kerr became a professional runner in June 2018. He chose to leave college early to do so. He signed a deal with Brooks Sports and trained with coach Danny Mackey. He was part of the Brooks Beasts Track Club. He trained in both Seattle and Albuquerque.

In August 2019, he won a silver medal in the 1500m at the British Athletics Championships. This allowed him to represent Great Britain at the 2019 World Athletics Championships. He finished sixth in the final.

Olympic Bronze in Tokyo (2021)

In May 2021, Kerr achieved his best time of 1:45.74 in the 800 metres. The next month, he won his first national title in the 1500 m at the 2021 British Athletics Championships. This win secured his place on the British team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The Olympics were held in 2021 due to the global pandemic.

In the Olympic 1500 m final, Kerr won a bronze medal. He ran his personal best time of 3:29.05. He finished behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen from Norway and Timothy Cheruiyot from Kenya.

European Indoor Record (2022)

On 27 February 2022, Kerr ran the indoor mile in 3:48.87. This happened at the Boston University Last Chance Meet. This time broke the European indoor mile record held by Eamonn Coghlan since 1983. It also broke Peter Elliot’s British indoor mile record from 1990.

During this race, his 1500 m split time was 3:32.86. This set a new British national record for the indoor 1500 m. In July, he competed in the 1500m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He finished in 5th place.

World Champion Gold (2023)

Kerr reacts after winning the 1500 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championship

On 23 August 2023, Kerr won the 1500 metres final at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. He beat the favorite, Jakob Ingebrigtsen from Norway. This was the second time in a row that Ingebrigtsen was upset in the 1500 metres final. Kerr's teammate, Jake Wightman, had won in 2022.

Later that month, on 31 August 2023, Kerr competed in the 2023 Diamond League Final for the 1500 m. He aimed to break the British record. He finished second to Yared Nuguse with a time of 3:30.51. This was just 1.7 seconds off the national record.

In his last race of the season on 10 September 2023, Kerr won the Fifth Avenue Mile. He finished with a time of 3:47.9. He ended the year ranked third in the World Athletics Rankings for the 1500 m. Sportscotland named him Scottish Sportsperson of the Year for 2023.

World Best, Indoor Champion, and Olympic Silver (2024)

Kerr (centre) after winning the men's 3000m at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland

On 11 February 2024, Kerr set a world best time in the short track 2 mile at the Millrose Games. His time of 8:00.67 was faster than Mo Farah's previous world best from 2015.

On 2 March, Kerr won a gold medal in the 3000 metres at the World Athletics Indoor Championships. This event took place in Glasgow, Scotland.

Kerr started his outdoor season on 20 April. He won the Pro Men's 800 m Challenge at the Oregon Relays.

On 25 May, at the Prefontaine Classic, Kerr won the Bowerman Mile. He set a new British record time of 3:45.34. He finished ahead of Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Yared Nuguse. This time broke Steve Cram's previous British record by almost a full second. This race was a highly anticipated rematch between Kerr and Ingebrigtsen. It was called the "Mile of the Century." This performance made Kerr the sixth fastest miler in history.

At the 2024 British Athletics Championships in June, Kerr competed in the 800 m. He finished last in the final after colliding with Elliot Giles. Days earlier, it was announced that he had joined the new Grand Slam Track series, started by Michael Johnson, for 2025.

On 5 July, Kerr was chosen to race in the 1500 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He was also named the Great Britain athletics team captain for the Games in Paris. The final was highly anticipated due to his rivalry with Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

1500 m final in Paris. Kerr is currently in fourth position

On 6 August, in the Olympic men's 1500 metre final, Kerr finished second. He was beaten by Cole Hocker of the United States in a sprint finish. Kerr almost lost to American Yared Nuguse, who finished third. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who had led most of the race, finished fourth. Hocker passed both Ingebrigtsen and Kerr to win. He set a new Olympic record and North American area record of 3:27.65.

Kerr's silver medal time was a new personal best and a new British national record of 3:27.79. This broke Mo Farah's previous British record by over a second. Nuguse was just one hundredth of a second behind Kerr.

On 8 September, Kerr won the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City. He set a new course record of 3:44.3. This broke Sydney Maree's record from 1981 by more than three seconds. Kerr had also won this race in 2023. In October, Kerr was named Scottish Athletics' athlete of the year.

2025 Season

In February 2025, Kerr planned to compete in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games. However, he had to withdraw due to illness. In April, he finished seventh in the Short Distance event group at the 2025 Kingston Slam. In May, at the 2025 Miami Slam, Kerr became the Slam Champion for the Short Distance group. He won the 1500 metres and finished fifth in the 800 metres, setting a new personal best of 1:45.01.

In July, Kerr finished second in the 1500 metres at the 2025 London Athletics Meet. In August, he became the British 5000 metres champion. In September, at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, Kerr got a right calf injury during the 1500 metres final.

Mile World Record (2026)

In March 2026, Kerr won his second world indoor 3000 metres title. This was at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland. That same month, Kerr announced his plan to attempt the world record in the mile race. He aimed for the London Diamond League in July. He said he wanted a "legal attempt" in the UK and committed his season to it.

Before the record attempt, Kerr raced only two 800m races. He focused on training for the mile. For five weeks, he trained at high altitude in Albuquerque. This means he trained in a place with less oxygen, which can help athletes improve.

On 18 July 2026, Kerr broke Hicham El Guerrouj's mile world record of 3:43.13. Kerr ran 3:42.66, which was 2.68 seconds faster than his previous best. El Guerrouj's record had stood since 1999, making this the longest time between mile world records for men.

Kerr called his attempt "Project 222." This referred to running a mile in 222 seconds, or 3 minutes and 42 seconds. He used special spikes and a speed suit. Two pacemakers helped him: Brannon Kidder for the first 800m and Žan Rudolf for the first 1,000m. Pacemakers are runners who help set a fast pace.

Personal Life

Josh Kerr married his longtime girlfriend, Larimar Rodriguez, in December 2025. They met while attending the University of New Mexico.

Achievements

Information taken from World Athletics profile.

International Competitions

Representing  Great Britain

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Result
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
2022	World Championships	Eugene, 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
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	1st	1500 m	3:29.38	Great Britain & N.I. (GBR)
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
2026	World Indoor Championships	Toruń, Poland	1st	3000 m	7:35.56	Great Britain

Personal Bests

Honours

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

See also

In Spanish: Josh Kerr para niños