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Brilliance and controversy are never far apart when it comes to Josh Kerr. It is what makes him such a compelling athlete. And after storming to a thrilling world indoor 3,000m title here in Torun, the Briton was quick to apply a sharp twist of the knife.
As he crossed the line, Kerr made NBA star Steph Curry’s famous ‘night night’ celebration, putting both hands against his cheek to signify that he had put his opponent – in this case the Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker – to sleep.
In fairness to Kerr, his American rival had made the same gesture after beating him last month at the Millrose Games – which made revenge when it mattered all the sweeter.
“I think he’s done such a great job the last couple of years,” said Kerr. “But I just thought, let him know that that was a huge motivational thing for me. Millrose was a big deal, but this is the North Star.”
Hocker acknowledged that losing and Kerr’s gesture had stung but promised his own payback. “I can’t even be that mad,” he said. “I flexed him at Millrose. All I can say is at least come up with your own celebration. But I’ll remember that one for sure.”
This men’s 3000m had been billed as the race of the championships, with all three 1500m medallists from the Paris Olympics going mano a mano once more. It was never going to live up to that epic, but it was still one heck of a race.
Kerr was not where he wanted to be for much of it. For the first two kilometres he was thinking to himself how much his coach, Danny Mackay, would be mad at him. While the Ethiopians Addisu Yihune and Getnet Wale pushed the train, Hocker and the Paris bronze medallist Yared Nuguse sat primed in third and fourth, while Kerr was behind them in sixth.
A the Ethiopians tired, Kerr moved out and struck on the penultimate lap while Hocker suddenly found himself boxed in. The American closed the gap in the final 100m but had left himself too much to do.
“All I was saying to myself in the race was ‘Danny’s going to be so mad at my positioning,’” said Kerr, who won in 7 mins 35.56 sec. “I just had to be really calm in the chaos and just relax. People watching, that it is not how you win a world medal.
“It’s a game of chess. Cole is so good and Yared so good that over the last kilometre you have to play your hand as confidently as you can and not give an inch.”
Hocker took silver 0.24 sec back, with the Frenchman Yann Schrub claiming bronze, but afterwards Kerr admitted he wasn’t sure how far Hocker was behind him as the stadium scoreboard wasn’t showing it.
“I felt like I had good power in the last 100m but it would have been nice to watch it,” said Kerr. “Because when I went, it was a little early but I had some juice in me in the last 100m so I was happy.”
It meant that Kerr, who limped out of the 1500m world championships final in Tokyo last September with a calf injury, had regained the world title that he won in Glasgow in 2024. And afterwards he paid tribute to his mum, Jill, for helping to get him back in prime shape.
“From where we were in Tokyo, it’s all down to coaching, and its down to my phsyio, my mum,” he said. “I’m extremely lucky, because she has written textbooks on physiotherapy. She is incredible. And for her to start to slow down with her professional career and to follow me around and help me out as much as possible has got me to this spot today.”
