Zurich, Switzerland- Scottish middle-distance runner Josh Kerr, who was crowned the new world champion a week ago, landed a second-place finish in the men’s 1500 m event at the 2023 Zurich Diamond League in Switzerland on Friday.
Last week at the World Athletics Championship 2023, Kerr stunned the crowd as he won the 1500 m race with a record of 3:29.38 minutes. His Norwegian competitor, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, trailed closely behind him in second place with a time of 3:29.65 minutes.
When he was asked about the last 200 m of the race, he said: “Obviously there’s a very big reminiscence of Wightman in there. I was battling with Jakob pretty hard. You can see from my face that I am throwing everything I had at this guy. We were both fighting. I wanted this for my whole life and I didn’t want [to give it up]. I looked up at the screen and I didn’t see anyone coming and I made sure I pumped all the way home. I am so happy.”
In an interview, Kerr stated that the whole experience was overwhelming for him:
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Kerr, who won Olympic bronze behind the victorious Norwegian in Tokyo in 2021. “It’s quite an overwhelming experience. But I just threw my whole 16 years of this sport into that last 200m and didn’t let up until the end.”
But this celebration proved to be short-lived when he fell short by a mere 0.02 seconds and came in second in Zurich.
The 25-year-old Scottish ace clocked out at 3:30.51 minutes at the finish line, coming in second behind the USA’s representative, Yared Nuguse, who clocked out at 3:30.49 minutes. Kenya’s representative, Abel Kipsang, came in third with a time of 3:30.85 minutes.
“I worked really hard, made sure that I gave everything out there,” said Kerr in an interview after the race.
But coming in second in a field of strong middle-distance runners is no joke. Bringing home the silver medal to Great Britain is still a wonderful feat.