5 things to know about Britain’s world champion Josh Kerr

Josh Kerr became world 1500m champion in Budapest on Wednesday after stunning favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

He follows British team-mate Jake Wightman, who won in Eugene last year, and here the PA news agency looks at the new golden boy.

Chasing the dream

He left home in Edinburgh at 17 and moved to the US to attend the University of New Mexico, in Albuquerque.

After turning professional in 2018 he signed with Brooks having turned down a deal with Nike and Kerr now trains in Seattle with the Brooks Beasts club and is coached by Danny Mackey.

His win also keeps the 1500m title at Edinburgh Athletic Club after Wightman’s triumph last year.

A sporting family

Kerr comes from a sporting background with his dad John a former professional rugby player and mum Jill a keen golfer.

His older brother Jake was a hooker for Bristol Bears having joined from Leicester Tigers in 2021.

Jake has one cap for Scotland, in the 2019 Six Nations against Italy, and left the Bears this summer.

Sunglasses sponsorship

Kerr has a sponsorship deal with Oakley sunglasses which rarely sees him racing without a pair.

Last year at the World Championships he wore a pair of £250 gold Oakley sunglasses, although he struggled to fifth in the final.

This year his glasses had more of a bronze tinge but he went onto win gold.

Olympic track star

Kerr was Team GB’s only male track and field medallist at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago.

He battled to 1500m bronze, running three minutes 29.05 seconds which was a new personal best.

Ingebrigtsen took the title back then but has since been beaten twice by British stars at the Worlds.

Meditation

Kerr works with a mindfulness coach to ensure he is in the right frame of mind to compete and train.

He starts his day with 10 minutes of meditation and writing in his training diary to clear his mind and he also hired a chef ahead of the World Championships.

“At this point, I work extremely hard. We’re very strict with diet, sleep, training, and all this stuff,” he said. “How can we unlock the fitness more than anyone else can?”