logo
Josh Kerr: ‘You're not doing anything if people aren't hating on you'

Josh Kerr: ‘You're not doing anything if people aren't hating on you'

Independent02-04-2025
Josh Kerr is ready to feel uncomfortable this year, both on the track and in front of the camera with the 1,500m world champion embracing a year of change.
Just seven weeks ago, the Briton was violently sick and could be heard hunched over in a Boston bathroom. That revealing footage, on Kerr's newly-launched YouTube channel, demonstrated a commitment to lifting the curtain behind the pursuit of greatness.
Kerr and his Brooks Beasts team could be seen agonising over the decision to withdraw from the Wanamaker Mile and a rare world record attempt.
Now recovered, after skipping the indoor season, including the defence of his world indoor title over 3,000m, Kerr is embarking on what he describes as 'a new era' for the sport.
The legendary Olympic champion Michael Johnson launches Grand Slam Track on Friday over three days in Kingston, Jamaica, with Kerr ready to not only duke it out over 1,500m, but forced out of his comfort zone to battle over 800m, too, thanks to the league's innovative new format.
A silver medallist at last year's Olympics, Kerr conceivably won the battle in his notorious rivalry with Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who will not be competing at Grand Slam Track, but ultimately lost the war after Cole Hocker claimed a surprise gold. The road to the World Championships in Tokyo is in the distance, pushed back to September, which should allow space for a more intense period of racing at Grand Slam Track, not to mention opportunities for self-promotion. With some British athletes asked to self-fund international appearances, Kerr recognises more than ever the value of building his brand.
'You have to push the line for it to be interesting to watch,' Kerr tells the Independent. 'So I want to give fresh insight to my ideas and provide a bit more of a raw approach for younger athletes coming through, or people interested in the sport that want more content to watch or to have more context about what it takes to get on the start line and try to run world records.
'I'm going to have to push my boundaries of how comfortable I am in front of the camera. I want to share the share as much as I can so that people know what the process looks like and then it can be a bit more relatable.'
The nature of social media has seen some negative comments directed at Kerr, yet that came as little surprise to the 27-year-old Scot, who insists he has endured similar treatment since his time studying and racing at the University of New Mexico through to that golden moment in Budapest in 2023.
'When you put yourself out there more and you're pushing boundaries, you're going to run into great comments and bad comments,' Kerr admits. 'I think most of them are trying to be helpful. But, you know, you're not doing anything if you don't have people hating on you. It doesn't really affect me. I've had that throughout my whole career, people are always going to be annoyed at change.'
Since upsetting Ingebrigtsen two years ago, Kerr has routinely been dragged into a bitter war of words with his Norwegian rival. But, when pushed over whether the rivalry was a distraction, Kerr has no regrets, despite Hocker sneaking past him at the Stade de France in a race for the ages.
'I wouldn't change anything because I didn't do anything out of my character,' Kerr insists. 'It blew up into this big thing because of you guys, the media, but you have got to promote the sport and that's great. Some people loved it, some people hated it.
'I would have handled it the exact same way, I'm going to be honest about my competitors because I think it does a disservice when you're turning questions down and lying about your own opinions. So I think we all have a duty in the sport to promote it and a lot of that can come from honesty.'
Kerr is relishing the chance to race more, moving away from the more heavily controlled races with pacemakers traditionally seen on the circuit outside of major championships.
With $100,000 (£77,000) up for grabs at each of the four meets this year, competition will be fiercer than ever too. Kerr's main competition will likely come in the form of 1,500m Olympic champion Hocker, 1,500m bronze medallist Yared Nuguse and the unknown quantity of 800m Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi.
'I have to be ruthless in my pursuit of excellence,' Kerr insists. 'As soon as I cross the finish line, I let my guard down a little bit. It was the same with the Olympics. I didn't come away with Goal A but being the fastest runner in British history isn't a bad little backup.
'I don't think there's the right balance [between races with and without pacers] outdoors. It's usually four months of time trial after time trial. So that's what's nice about Grand Slam Track coming in. It's going to be riveting competition between the best athletes. That's what I like. It's what motivates me at the moment. World record attempts are great, and it's really entertaining to watch as well. But we just need to get the balance a little bit better outdoors.
'This is the start of a new era for track and field, it's a massive deal. I can't wait to go and race in Jamaica. There's a lot more money on the line, which will make it more entertaining for those watching. The stakes are so high.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

James Guy hopes to make a splash at another Olympic Games
James Guy hopes to make a splash at another Olympic Games

The Independent

time25 minutes ago

  • The Independent

James Guy hopes to make a splash at another Olympic Games

James Guy is targeting a trip to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles after admitting he has never been happier in his swimming career. The 29-year-old, a six-times Olympic medallist, will head into the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore with one eye firmly on LA and retirement currently far from his thoughts. Guy said: 'Yes, 100 per cent LA is in the plan. Obviously I'll be 32, turning 33, but I don't look like I'm going to change much in the next couple of years unless something drastically goes wrong.' A member of the Great Britain 4×200 metres freestyle team which retained its Olympic title in Paris last summer after taking gold at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Guy is one of the nation's most decorated swimmers. Asked what he still had to tick off, he replied: 'Nothing really. I would say just in terms of where I am right now, I'm the happiest I've probably ever been in terms of my swimming career. 'That's why I'm still going, obviously, back on my best again, hitting personal best times. 'I think in terms of athletes of my age, it doesn't really happen that often, so to be where I am right now, really enjoying the sport, I'll try to do for as long as I can.' The British quartet of Guy, Tom Dean, Duncan Scott and Matt Richards face stern competition for top spot on the podium in Singapore with the Americans in impressive form at their trials. They will walk out having been lauded by the crowds at Wimbledon having been invited along with their partners into the Royal Box for the middle Sunday of the tournament. Guy said: 'We had a really good day, had some great seats. The food was fantastic – we ate scones and food all day and had lunch with the chairwoman of the club. I was talking to her and she said that Tom Cruise was in my seat the day before, so it was actually really, really cool.' Asked if he and his team-mates should have been eating scones as they prepares for the World Championships, he replied with a smile: 'I know. I only had a couple. Matt had more than me – he probably didn't tell you that, did he? I had two or three.'

GB's Thorpe & Tomblin win world synchronised bronze
GB's Thorpe & Tomblin win world synchronised bronze

BBC News

time26 minutes ago

  • BBC News

GB's Thorpe & Tomblin win world synchronised bronze

Izzy Thorpe and Ranjuo Tomblin have won Great Britain's first medal of the World Aquatics Championships in scored 322.0583 points in the synchronised mixed duet free event to win bronze and claim GB's first ever medal in the was a tight contest for a podium place, with just 1.7980 points separating first and third. Spain's Dennis Gonzalez Boneu and Iris Tio won gold, while six-time artistic swimming champion Aleksandr Maltsev and partner Olesia Platonova - who are Russian but compete as neutral athletes - took British duo had the highest difficulty and execution score in the final despite only competing together once before. Olympic silver medallist Thorpe and rising-star Tomblin won silver in the mixed duet technical event at the European Championships last have both enjoyed successful seasons as Tomblin became the first British male to win a European artistic swimming title last year, while Thorpe won GB's first synchronised medal at the Olympics in Paris 2024.

'Social media aided body anxiety' - England's Bern
'Social media aided body anxiety' - England's Bern

BBC News

time2 hours ago

  • BBC News

'Social media aided body anxiety' - England's Bern

England and Bristol Bears prop Sarah Bern said building her social media profile has helped her confidence after struggling with anxiety around body image. Bern has been capped 71 times by the Red Roses and was named in England's 32-player squad on Thursday for the upcoming Rugby World 28-year-old was in conversation with double Olympic gold medal winning boxer Nicola Adams in the latest episode of The LGBT Sport Podcast."My opinions on social media have really changed over the last year and I really struggled with anxiety. I feel a lot more confident now - but [I] really struggled with being myself," Bern said."I was always bigger as a young girl and I never felt like I was good enough or pretty enough or any of those things. I feel like a lot of young girls feel that. "I was really anxious about a lot of things and social media, I was like 'no one really wants to see what I'm doing'." Bern, who won her first England cap in 2016, cited American centre Ilona Maher's spell at Bristol Bears earlier this year with helping her see the value in using her profile online. Maher is the most followed rugby player in the world on social media with more than 8.5 million followers on Instagram and TikTok and has built a profile on messages of body positivity, which has propelled her to global star signed with the Bears for three months from January to March to play in the Premiership Women's Rugby."She [Maher] was with her family and her energy and how she managed to get her social media alongside her being a professional athlete, I found it really cool and like it wasn't a big task," Bern said."Especially for women's rugby, we need more fan engagement. We need more fans. We need to grow our sport - what's the best way to do that? Well, show ourselves."Now I like really love it and I just relish it and I actually think it's really helped me to be less anxious and just be myself." Bern will be appearing in her third World Cup for the Red Roses next month when the tournament kicks off in England, having been part of the squads that finished runners-up in 2017 and going in as one of the favourites to win the trophy, Bern said she feels "less pressure to live up to expectations" this time around and instead feels excited for the wider impact a home World Cup could have with the public. "It's been a learning curve for me to actually just enjoy it and enjoy the experience of it. This World Cup I'm excited for in a different way. I hope we win, but I don't feel like that's the biggest thing that could happen," she said."We're on the brink of hopefully doing what the girls [England women football] did with the Euros and really making the sport blow up across the globe."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store