Editor’s note: Josh Kerr has delivered all season. Josh has raced sparingly this year, but he delivered a World record at the Mile (and a British record at 1,500 meters), then a mile win at the Commonwealth Games and finally, a big payday in Budapest. Stuart Weir wrote his ninth piece of eleven on the Ultimate Games about Josh Kerr delivering on promises made!
World Ultimate men’s 1500m
Josh Kerr has a very targeted approach to his season. In 2026, he has run 8 times – 2 indoor races, two 800s and four 1500s or miles. He won all four 1500/mile races. He won the Commonwealth Games gold in his native Scotland. He won the World Indoor 3000m. In London he announced his intention to target the world record in the mile and succeeded. This week he won the inaugural World Ultimate 1500m race.
His opponents in Budapest included:
Jake Wightman – 2022 World Champion, 2025 World silver medalist
Isaac Nader – 2025 World Champion
Timothy Cheruiyot -2019 World Champion, 2021 Olympic silver medalist, 2017 World Championship silver medalist.
Cole Hocker – 2024 Olympic Champion, 2025 World Champion (5000m)
Yared Nuguse – 2024 Olympic bronze medalist
Cameron Myers – 2026 Diamond League finalist.
It is no exaggeration to say that Josh Kerr controlled the race. He let others lead and sat in the pack. Then he made his move and was not going to be caught. The final result was:
1 Josh Kerr 3:29.35
2 Cameron Myers 3:29.68
3 Hobbs Kessler 3:30.73
4 Cole Hocker 3:30.74
5 Yared Naguse 3:30.76
Josh Kerr said afterward: “I didn’t feel amazing during the warm-up, but I knew I could do it. I just didn’t want to push too early. The rhythm of the race made the most sense for me – someone else pushed in the front, and I managed to push hard in the finish. I didn’t race a lot this season, so I kind of came here fresh and ready to go. Cameron is an awesome athlete; he was pushing a lot, but I managed to look at the screen and see what the gap was. In the last two laps, the gap was changing, and I knew I had him. Sometimes you’ve got to dig a bit deeper in order to win or set a world record. In the last two weeks, I pushed myself a bit, and I knew I had been working hard. This sport has moved on in the last couple of years, and I’m impressed with where it is now. Anything that moves the sport in the right direction and does good for athletes, I support. It would be another story if athletes could represent their brands, but I also love my country, and I love representing it. But unfortunately we don’t make any money from that. We don’t have the paychecks other sports do… yet. There is an opportunity for our sport to grow. This prize money is absolutely incredible.”
A gracious Camerson Myers said: “I ran the perfect race I could have run. I thought with 200m to go that I was going to win and that is an exciting feeling. Josh was just too strong today and that shows why he is a world record holder”.
Josh Kerr set clear targets for 2026 and achieved them!
