- By Harry Poole
- BBC Sport in Glasgow
Dominant Kerr wins 3,000m world indoor title
Josh Kerr and Molly Caudery won gold medals on a sensational night for Great Britain at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
Roared on as deafening crowd noise filled the arena, Kerr won the 3,000m in seven minutes 42.98 seconds to become the first Scot to land world indoor gold in 31 years.
Less than 40 minutes later, Caudery was crowned pole vault world champion at only her second global championships, beating New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney on countback after both cleared 4.80m.
In the women’s 400m final, the Netherlands’ Femke Bol set a sensational world record of 49.17 seconds to take gold, as British team captain Laviai Nielsen ran a personal best 50.89 but narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth.
Laura Muir also missed out on a medal with a fifth-place finish in the women’s 3,000m, won by American Elle St Pierre.
Kerr delivers gold on homecoming
Kerr, the outdoor 1500m world champion, has made clear his intention to leave the Paris Olympics with a gold medal hanging around his neck.
On this occasion, he judged his 3000m finish to perfection as he overhauled Ethiopia’s defending champion Selemon Barega.
The 26-year-old never looked like relinquishing the lead once he hit the front with 400m remaining, the crowd rising to their feet as Kerr powered to a memorable victory.
Little more than six months has passed since Kerr stunned reigning Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to take his outdoor global gold in Budapest.
Winner of Olympic bronze in Tokyo, Kerr has backed up his talk at the start of 2024 by breaking British legend Mo Farah’s world indoor two-mile record that had stood for nine years – and now he has another world title to reinforce his confidence.
Having finished 12th at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham two years ago, Kerr said prior to these championships he wanted to at last do himself justice in front of a home crowd.
He achieved that here, while further asserting himself as the man to beat in Paris.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
