BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Middle-distance runner Josh Kerr mounted an upset victory in the men's 1,500 meter at world championships Wednesday, pulling ahead of favorite Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway in a dramatic backstretch comeback that keeps the title in British hands for the second straight year.
The Scottish-born Kerr spent most of the race in the middle of the pack, while Ingebrigtsen, who took Olympic gold in the 1,500 in Tokyo and silver at the worlds last year, set the pace for nearly the entire race.
But with 200 meters to go, Kerr pulled past the Norwegian's right shoulder, and pushed through to the finish for a season best at 3:29.38.
“I needed every single ounce that I had today,” Kerr said. “I threw everything I had at that last 50. I don’t think there was anyone in the world that was going to want that more than me today.”
The performance marks the second worlds in a row where a British runner has won gold in the 1,500. Jake Wightman took the title last year.
In preparation for this year's worlds, Kerr swore off using his mobile phone for two weeks to keep himself focused on training — though he said he would still occasionally look at the Premier League app to follow soccer and a language-learning app he’s using to study Spanish.
But before forsaking communication technology, Kerr spoke to Wightman, a personal friend, who offered to give him any advice he needed ahead of the championships.
“I told him it’s our title, it’s Great Britain's title, and I’m looking to keep that in our country,” Kerr said.
And he did, in a sign that British middle distance runners are looking to be a force to be reckoned with in an event where they've not performed so successfully in decades.
When Wightman took gold last year, it made him the first British male to win a title in the 1,500 since Seb Coe — president of World Athletics — took gold at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
It was Coe who presented Kerr with the gold medal Wednesday in Budapest — two British runners a generation apart who fought to bring the same prize to their country.
Kerr said he has flashbacks of “the early, early mornings, all the late nights and all the sacrifices” involved with his training. As he attends school at University of New Mexico, he doesn't live in the same country as his family, nor in the same state as his fiancee.
But the champion runner is clear on why he does it all: “To be the best 1,500 meter runner in the world,” he said.
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