Josh Kerr celebrates his world indoor 3000m win in Glasgow (© Dan Vernon)
Just before the bell sounded in the men’s 3000m final, Josh Kerr made his move, sweeping through to join Selemon Barega at the front of the field with one lap of the track remaining.
Could the Scot who brought down Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Norwegian prince of the middle distances, in the last 200m of the stunning men’s 1500m final at the outdoor World Championships in Budapest last August do the same to the defending 3000m champion back on home ground at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24?
Indeed, he could. And then some.
The noise threatened to raise the roof in the Glasgow Arena as the pride of Glasgow kicked again halfway down the back straight. Barega, the Olympic champion at 10,000m, was unable to respond.
As Kerr rounded into the home straight, the gold medal was in the bag. He still dipped for the line but with 0.61 to spare.
The time, 7:42.98, was a statistical irrelevance as the double world champion savoured his victory ahead of his US rival Yared Nuguse, who came through to snatch silver in 7:43.59, Barega fading to third in 7:43.64.
Kerr had become the first British man to win the world indoor 3000m title and only the third Scottish athlete to strike world indoor gold in any event.
He wasn’t even born when the Bellshill Bullet Tom McKean hit the bullseye in the men’s 800m and his training partner Yvonne Murray did likewise in the women’s 3000m in Toronto back in the mists of 1993.
Fittingly, McKean and Murray were both in the house to join in the celebrations as Kerr soaked up the applause wrapped in a Scottish Saltire flag.
“For Scotland and for the UK, this is a huge championships,” said the Tokyo Olympic 1500m bronze medallist, who has been based in the United States in Albuquerque since the age of 17.
“I needed to be at my best. It was a hard-fought race.”
It was indeed and Kerr fought the smartest, judging his effort to absolute perfection, as he had in that wonderful world outdoor 1500m final seven months ago.
He was happy to sit back in the pack as Barega and his Ethiopian teammate Getnet Wale toyed with the pace at the front, injecting fleeting surges.
The field remained bunched with 800m remaining, at which point Kerr coolly drifted up into second, behind Wale. It was the perfect position to react to any major move.
That came with 500m remaining, Barega making his way past into the lead. Nuguse’s US teammate Olin Hocker entered the equation too before Kerr closed down Barega at the bell – and proceeded to break not just the Ethiopian runner but the Ethiopian stranglehold on the event.
After wins by Yomif Kejelcha in Portland in 2016 and in Birmingham in 2018, and Barega’s success in Belgrade two years ago, Kerr became the first European winner since Italy’s Gennaro Di Napoli retained the title in Toronto in 1993.
“I just didn't want to short change anyone because I knew I had the support of all Scotland and the UK tonight,” added Kerr, who has raced sparingly on the boards but set a brilliant world indoor two mile best of 8:00.67 in New York on 6 February.
Behind the three medal winners, Wale finished fourth in 7:44.77 and Hacker fifth in 7:45.40.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics
| MEN'S 3000m MEDALLISTS | ||
| 🥇 | Josh Kerr 🇬🇧 GBR | 7:42.98 |
| 🥈 | Yared Nuguse 🇺🇸 USA | 7:43.59 |
| 🥉 | Selemon Barega 🇪🇹 ETH | 7:43.64 |
| Full results | ||
