The world indoor 3000m champion is expanding on the ambitions behind his mile world record attempt and what it will take to write his name in the history books.
“To be remembered as the best middle distance runner in history, you have to make history, and that’s the next part of this journey.”
It’s been a few days since Josh Kerr announced that he intends to match Hicham El Gerouj’s 1999 world record (3:43.13). At the London Diamond League meeting in July, however, the 3000m indoor world champion is certainly not tired of talking about it. In fact, he admits it’s a relief that the news is out there now.
“I always thought it was the worst-kept secret in athletics, but people have obviously done well to keep it quiet,” he smiles. “It’s actually quite nice to talk freely about it. It’s obviously a huge goal, but it’s something I’m very, very confident about and very passionate about.”
With this year’s World Indoor Championships, where he secured his second career gold medal in the 3000m, now in the rearview mirror, Kerr returned to his home base in New Mexico and belted out Project 222 with his team, supported by sponsor Brooks.
Its name represents the number of seconds it clocks in at three minutes and 42 seconds on the 1,609m track, and the 28-year-old hopes his experience will remain a talking point for months to come.
Few events in history have captured the imagination more than a mile. a distance that conjures up iconic images and moments in athletics, from Roger Bannister and John Landy to Seb Coe and Steve Ovett.
Kerr’s attempt to join those names with this attack on the legendary mark has already rattled the athletics world, but in a summer where football’s World Cup will be in the spotlight, the ambition is that it will also help his sport find its way into mainstream consciousness.
The stakes will be high and certainly not lowered by such an early and such public declaration of intent, but Kerr wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I like the pressure of the big moments, with a lot on the line, so it suits me a lot,” said the 2023 world 1500m champion and Olympic silver medallist. “I almost create my own pressure, which allows me to really focus. I feel like I’m a little better. I know where my limitations are a little bit more and I’m very confident that we’ll be ready to do this thing in July.”
Time and time again, Kerr has proven his championship credentials. In previous interviews with AW, he described the art of winning major medals as a fine skill in itself. It will still be an open race, but making the clock rather than a podium position his priority presents a different set of challenges.
“The hard thing about racing people is that they’re fickle,” he says. “You never know who’s going to show up, what kind of shape people are in, the moves they’re going to make, the positioning and stuff like that, so you’ve got to bring your game in with that.
“The good thing about the record is that it doesn’t move, so when the gun goes off, you know that record isn’t going to change for the next three and a half minutes. It is less variable than man.
“Obviously there will be people in the race who can run as fast, if not faster than me. I can’t see it as a possibility, but you know it’s humanly possible. That’s the only variable there is, and so it’s fun to have something a little different.
“I’ve chased records in the past, with the indoor two-mile world record (8:00.67 in 2024), and I got the NCAA (1,500m) record back in 2018, and that was at age 37.”
Success with this pursuit will surely be the best. The mile is different for many reasons and has a romance all its own thanks to its past
“It’s also more widely understood,” agrees Kerr. “I think everybody has probably run a mile and knows how fast they can run a mile, or can guess at least, and I think those numbers mean a little bit more than the 1,500 meters right now, and maybe in history. Clearly, the mile has come a long, long time.
“The 1500m world record is great, but it was a debate. which one do we buy? And it made no sense to me. I was saying: “We should run the mile” and then “We can make it the London Emsley Carr Mile”. the most intense viewer.
“If you’re casual, you understand the mile, and if you’re intense, you know there’s an extra nine units to deal with the meter that we have to calculate in those four circuits. So you can be as crafty as you want, really.
“Apart from people coming to the London Diamond League in person, I hope people tune in and watch.”
Look out for an exclusive interview with Josh Kerr in the May issue of AW magazine.
