As Josh Kerr prepares for a men’s 1500m with more intrigue and mystery than a Seicho Matsumoto novel, he wants to make one thing clear. He is, without any doubt in his mind, the man to beat at these world championships.
Kerr knows that everyone is bigging up Niels Laros, the staggeringly talented 20-year-old from the Netherlands who won the Diamond League final, and the 18-year-old Kenyan Phanuel Koech, who thumped him in London. Cole Hocker, the American who pipped him in an Olympic final for the ages, is one of many other dangers too. But as he prepares for Saturday’s heats, there is no mistaking Kerr’s supreme confidence.
“These guys have run well all season,” he bristles. “That’s fantastic. But I beat Cole every time that I’ve raced him over 1500m this year. I don’t believe I’ve ever lost to Laros. And if you look at how my history has worked, I make a big jump at this time of the season.
“It’s one of those things where people get excited about the new shiny toys. It’s my title. If they want it, they can come get it.”
Kerr can, of course, point to his CV: Olympic 1500m bronze in 2021, world champion in 2023, Olympic silver in 2024. He has been there, done that, had the medals plonked around his neck. But it is a recent training session that ended with him running his fastest 200m rep ever in a workout – 22.4 seconds at the end of a speed session – that really has him excited.
“I’m getting better,” he says. “I’ve surprised myself this year at how much better I’ve gotten. I think I’ve stepped up. I took a big step into Budapest. I took another big step out of Budapest into the indoor season and then through the Olympics.
“I had some issues through the fall and winter of 2024, but I’ve taken another step forward where I believe I’m in better shape than I have ever been.”
Kerr is also delighted to be back in Japan after the strangeness of running in an Olympics in front of no spectators during Covid. “It’s tough to complain about it just because of what a privileged position we were in,” he says. “We’re fit, healthy people going out at the Olympics to race for a moment of our dreams, things like that. But I think from an athlete’s standpoint, going up against different championships, wearing masks in the warm-up area was ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous.
“Even on the podium, we had to have our masks on and then there was a woman who signed up and said, you can now take your masks off for the photos. It was a whole different world. Either way, I think we’ve all moved on and tried to forget about that as much as we can.”
Now Kerr is only looking forward. He knows, though, that he will need to be at his best given that Laros looked incredibly impressive in winning the Diamond League final with a scorching last 100m in 12.5sec – and Hocker, Koech and others in the event are no slouches either.
‘He’s done well in the age group rankings and has made some big finals in the senior ranks as well.’ Niels Laros set a new Dutch record of 3:29.20 to win the 1500m at the Diamond League final. Photograph: Michael Buholzer/AP
“I see a serious 1500m racer for sure,” says Kerr, when asked about Laros. “It seems like he’s got some great tools. Obviously he’s done well in the age group rankings and has made some big finals in the senior ranks as well. He’s a pretty well-rounded athlete.”
Other contenders cannot be discounted either. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who won Olympic 1500m gold in Tokyo in 2021, is back from injury, while the French athlete Azeddine Habz has run the fastest time this year. But Kerr says he has plans for all of them.
“I think we have highlighted probably eight or so that are looking really good,” he says. “We’ll have specific plans in place for them. I’ve been working on them for the last four weeks in training. The event is in a really great spot. There’s a lot of different styles and storylines. Over the last few years, we’ve also had this new crop of younger athletes coming up and through.”
Kerr, though, insists he is ready. Certainly there is no mistaking his preternatural confidence when asked whether it will be easier or harder to win than Budapest in 2023.
I’m so excited to go out and race. It’s probably going to be the easiest thing I’ve done over the last six weeks.
“Easier,” he says. “I’ve done it before. I know how to do it. I’m in a better place. I’m more excited. I’ve already got one of those gold medals in my safe. When I say easier, I’m not saying the race is going to be easier. I’m not saying the competition is worse. I’m saying that I know how to do it.
“This training camp has been pretty hard,” he adds. “I’m so excited to go out and race those guys over 1500m. It’s probably going to be the easiest thing I’ve done over the last six weeks. So I’m fully 100% confident that I have exactly what I need to go out and win. I just need to execute.”
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