Torun, Poland : Britain’s Josh Kerr won gold in the 3,000 metres at the World Indoor Championships in Poland on Saturday, surging clear in the closing stages to give his country its first medal of the tournament.
Kerr crossed the line in 7:35.56, finishing ahead of American Cole Hocker and France’s Yann Schrub after taking control of the race in the final lap.
The Briton, who had been beaten by Hocker in the 1,500m at the Paris Olympics, was racing only for the second time since suffering a calf injury during his world 1,500m title defence in Tokyo last September.
Kerr sat patiently in fifth for much of the race before moving into contention with two laps remaining as he tracked Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune and Getnet Wale.
He hit the front at the bell and held off a late charge from Schrub and Hocker to reclaim the title he last won two years ago in Glasgow.
“This race didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, but racing is all about dealing with the situations you are put in,” Kerr said.
“I shouldn’t worry much about the mistakes in the race, although there were a lot of them today.
“I thought I would be at the top of the sport for a long time, but after missing a couple of opportunities that I wanted, I am really going to enjoy this gold.”
Elsewhere on the second day of competition, Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer won the heptathlon with 6,670 points, setting a world record after clocking a heptathlon-best 7.52 seconds in the 60 metres hurdles.
Canada’s Christopher Morales Williams claimed the 400m title in a championship record 44.76, while Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis cleared 6.25 metres to win a fourth successive world indoor pole vault crown.
