Josh Kerr of the United Kingdom stunned Norway’s Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win the 1500m gold medal at the World Championships in Budapest.

Kerr, a bronze medalist at the Olympics in Tokyo, timed his assault for gold to perfection inside the final 200m.

The 25-year-old set a season’s best time of three minutes, 29.38 seconds to finish on the podium in his debut World Championships.

It comes one year after Ingebrigtsen was defeated in Eugene by Briton Jake Wightman in similar circumstances.

Kerr let out a huge yell as he crossed the finish line, rejoicing with the audience and hugging his parents in the seats while wearing a crown and a gold medal around his neck.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said the Scot.

“It’s a surreal experience, but I’m so proud of myself, my team, and my family for getting me here.”

“I didn’t think I ran the best race.” “I just threw my entire 16-year career into that last 200m and didn’t give up until the end.”

Meanwhile, Ingebrigtsen appeared disheartened as history repeated itself.

The 22-year-old led for much of the race until being thwarted by a brave finish from a British athlete, Kerr, who broke his adversary in the final 50m.

Ingebrigtsen finished second in 3:29.65, followed by compatriot Narve Gilje Nordas (3:29.68), while Britain’s Neil Gourley finished ninth in 3:31.10.

Kerr gave Great Britain its fourth medal of the championships, and its second gold, following Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s heptathlon victory.

Kerr aspires to be like Wightman and be on top of the world.
Kerr had indicated his conviction that Ingebrigtsen, who was unbeaten this season and had the quickest time in 2023, was “very beatable” prior to the championships.

And, while 2022 champion Wightman looked on, the Scot performed spectacularly like his Edinburgh Athletics Club teammate.

Ingebrigtsen was anxious to improve on last year’s silver and grabbed leadership on the second lap – but was unable to answer when Kerr came level and then refused to fade away.

The defending world 5,000m champion entered the championships unblemished, having recorded the fourth-fastest 1500m in history in July, and was a heavy favorite to win gold.

Kerr had run his two fastest times since Tokyo earlier this season, but Ingebrigtsen was on fire as he worked to avenge his 2022 defeat.

While his talent is clear, Norway’s multifaceted star will be understandably disturbed by the manner in which world gold was once again snatched from him, with another Briton adding his name to the list of contenders for Paris 2024.

Kerr proved his ability to deliver elite level performances on the global stage when he won an Olympic bronze medal in 2021, being the first British male to do so since 1988.

After battling illness to finish fifth at last year’s Worlds, he followed that up with a wonderfully handled effort here.

Pole vaulters share gold as Warholm reclaims global championship
After being sidelined by injury, men’s 400m hurdles world record holder Karsten Warholm recovered his title with a convincing victory.

Warholm, who finished sixth last season despite suffering from a hamstring injury in the lead-up to the race, has shown hints of a return to his destructive best in 2023 by completing two of the top five fastest performances of all time.

The Norwegian won his fourth world title in 46.89 seconds, beating off Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands (47.34) and American Rai Benjamin (47.56).

Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic won the women’s 400m final in 48.76 seconds, beating off Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek and Barbadian Sada Williams.

Molly Caudery of the United Kingdom also shone in the women’s pole vault final, which saw Australian Nina Kennedy and American Katie Moon share gold.

Both Kennedy and Moon decided to share the championship after clearing 4.90m, but neither could pass 4.95m after three attempts.

Caudery, 23, finished fifth with a personal best clearance of 4.75m in her maiden appearance at a global championships.

Anna Purchase qualified for the hammer throw final in 11th place with a best throw of 71.31m, however Charlotte Payne (69.57m) did not.

Cindy Sember of Great Britain was unable to qualify for the women’s 100m hurdles final after finishing sixth in the semi-finals in 12.97 seconds, while Megan Keith and Amy Eloise-Markovc failed to qualify from the women’s 5,000m heats, which were pushed back from the morning session due to extreme heat with temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius.

Markovc finished 11th in her heat in 15:13.66, while Sifan Hassan and 1500m gold medalist Faith Kipyegon engaged in an unnecessary sprint finish, and Keith finished 14th in 15:21.94.

Aimee Pratt finished eighth in her heat in 9:26.37 to lose out on a medal in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase.