Glasgow gold for Josh Kerr in 3000m victory at World Championships

The Scottish runner delighted the home crowd to pick up gold in Glasgow on Saturday.

Josh Kerr wins 3000 metres gold at World Athletics Championships in Glasgow SNS Group

Scottish runner Josh Kerr has won gold in the 3000 metres at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow.

The home crowd were delighted after a late burst of pace by the 26-year-old at the Emirates Arena on Saturday night.

The win ends Scotland’s 31-year wait for a world indoor title.

Kerr clocked 7:42.98 to become world champion at the event being held in the east end of the city over the weekend.

He powered away on the final lap to win comfortably, with defending champion Selemon Barega fading down the final straight as he was beaten to silver by American Yared Nuguse.

The world record holder at the indoor two mile race and European indoor mile adds the gold medal to his Olympic Bronze collected three years ago.

He also won World Championship gold at the 1500m in Bucharest in 2023.

After the race he told BBC Sport: “I think I burned more energy celebrating than I did in the race, which is a bit embarrassing.

“This competition is so important.

“I’ve come to championships before not ready to have a real go at it and I feel I’ve let the UK audience down a bit in the way I’ve performed in front of them. It was really important to come here fit and ready to go and really execute.

“I came in without a solid plan, just really fluid. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t acting emotionally.

“I kept a patient head and then I could really send it with 400 metres to go.”

Eilish McColgan congratulated Kerr on his gold medal winning run, taking to X, formally known as Twitter, to say “Josh Kerr!!! What a run! Another world title.”.

Elsewhere Laura Muir finished fifth in the women’s 3000 metres with a time of 8:29.76.

She set a season’s best time of 8mins 29.76secs, but that was only good enough for fifth as American Elle St Pierre took the win ahead of Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay.

St Pierre’s time of 8:20.87 was a World Indoor Championships record.

Earlier on Saturday Jemma Reekie reached the final of the 800m with a time of 1:58.28 in the semi-final.

The 25-year-old Scot bided her time in second spot before passing Ethiopia’s Habitam Alemu on the final straight to win heat two in commanding fashion in a time of 1:58.28.

World number five Reekie progresses to Sunday’s medal race as the fastest qualifier across the two semi-finals and had a warning for her podium rivals.

She told BBC Sport: “(It was) perfect planning – you’d think Jon (Bigg, her coach) knew a bit about this sport by now. (It was) really good.

“I’m in really good shape. Obviously the final’s going to be really tough, but I want them to know if they’re coming to win on my track they’re going to have to work hard.

“I think it will be a fast one.”

At 19 years and 26 days, Italy’s Mattia Furlani became the youngest long jump medallist in World Indoor Championships history by claiming silver in the men’s event with a leap of 8.22m.

The teenager missed out on the title – to Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou – only on countback, with bronze going to Carey McLeod of Jamaica (8.21m).

Britain’s David King qualified for the semi-finals of the men’s 60m hurdles after clocking 7.64 but compatriot Tade Ojora failed to make the cut in his heat.

Amy Hunt fell short in the women’s 60m, finishing fifth in her heat in a time of 7.29.

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