Josh Kerr storms to Commonwealth Games mile title in golden Glasgow moment

Josh Kerr’s summer of miracle and wonder continued in front of his adoring home fans as he added Commonwealth gold to his glittering collection.

In a slowly run race that frequently resembled dodgems, Kerr made a devastating kick for home with 250 metres remaining to eviscerate a high-quality field and take the title in 3:54.12.

Some had feared that Kerr might have an emotional hangover after shattering the mile world record a fortnight ago. Others believed he might be vulnerable in a last-lap sprint. So much for all that. He destroyed them all.

In fact, the 28-year-old Scot was so far in front before the end he even had time to smile and gesture excitedly to those roaring him on in the main stand.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” said Kerr. “This is absolutely incredible. To do it in front of a Scottish crowd where I learned how to race. I came here week after week growing up as a kid.”

Before that dazzling finish Kerr had to employ a few rough-house tactics along the way. A couple of times he barged other athletes. On another occasion he looked to step off the track. Not that he cared.

“I’m fit at the moment, I’ll say that,” he said. “I love this style of racing. I knew that was what it was going to be coming in.”

Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, came up with the idea of restoring the mile to the Commonwealth Games. He knew there was something mythical and magical about the distance. And so the umbilical cord that was wrongly ripped up after 1966 after a legendary roll call of winners was rightly restored.

Roger Bannister, Herb Elliott, Peter Snell, Kip Keino … and now Josh Kerr. That is some list. And it was some final too.

There has been plenty of talk about diluted fields at these Games. But this was a full-fat cream contest, containing three of the last four world 1500m champions – Timothy Cheruiyot, Jake Wightman and Kerr – as well as the 20-year-old Australian wunderkind Cam Myers.

Earlier this week, Myers was hailed as the “future of the sport” by Wightman. But he had no answer to Kerr’s injection of pace and had to settle for silver in 3:55.26, with Cheruiyot taking bronze.

Racing the clock is very different to the white heat of a global final. And so it proved. The first lap was run in a dawdry 59 seconds. And it got even slower as the pack went through halfway in a painfully slow 2:02.

Who was going to blink first? Not Kerr. “It was a little windy up the back stretch,” he explained. “It was about making sure I wasn’t spending too much energy in the first 600m to a kilometre. Then it was about staying awake and alive and trying to get round and get some space. It took some time. But overall I felt like I had plenty of gears left in me.”

Even with 500m to go Kerr was still poorly positioned. But he rapidly moved up behind Cheruiyot and Myers into third by the bell before striking hard – and decisively – soon after.

Suddenly Kerr was five metres clear, his legs whirring like pistons. Only Wightman, the 2022 world champion, went with him. But the exertion proved too much and he fizzled out to finish sixth.

“I knew an opportunity would open up,” said Kerr. “Jake was on the outside and he’s such a great closer. But I had enough energy to put a gap on him in the last 200m.”

Kerr has now won the World Indoor title and broken the world record this year, to add to his world title in 2023 and Olympic silver and bronze medals from Paris and Tokyo. But he is not finished yet given the 1500m world record is also now in his sights.

“London was a big stress, pushing my body to the extreme limit,” he admitted. “Doing a championship race is a nice clean of the palate, using your brain instead of your body. It’s how I love to race.”

Elsewhere Jazmin Sawyers finally won her first major outdoor title with a leap of 6.93m in the women’s long jump. Sawyers, who was a silver medallist in Glasgow 12 years ago, was six centimetres clear of Nigeria’s Ruth Osoro.

It was also another great night for Australia as Kurtis Marschall broke the Commonwealth pole vault record with a clearance of 5.85m to take gold.

There was also a clean sweep for Australia in the women’s mile with Abbey Caldwell winning gold, Jessica Hull silver and Claudia Hollingsworth bronze.