Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Josh Kerr (GBR) will go up against world indoor champion Samuel Tefera (ETH) at the Müller Birmingham Diamond League, the second meeting of the 2022 Wanda Diamond League series, at the Alexander Stadium on Saturday 21 May.
Kerr, the Scottish national record holder (3:29.05), is ranked second on the British all-time list behind Mo Farah and is a former European under-20 champion (2015) and World Championships finalist (2019). A University of New Mexico alumni, he became only the 11th athlete in NCAA history to achieve the collegiate 1500m indoor/outdoor double when he won the titles in 2017.
Based in Seattle with the Brooks Beasts, the 24-year-old races sparingly but does so with impact. He took down the British indoor 1500m (3:32.86) and mile (3:48.87) records in Boston in February and goes into this summer as a proven championship racer with a realistic focus on winning medals.
“Making the podium in Tokyo might have been a surprise to some people, but it wasn’t a surprise to me,” says the Edinburgh AC athlete, whose mile performance in Boston was also a European record and ranks him third in the world all-time (indoors). “I don’t race too often, but I build consistent training blocks. I’m not one for big training camps and expensive facilities, but I work hard, and I have great belief in myself. I just keep my head down and stack the good days.
“I’ve enjoyed running fast this winter and I definitely want to continue that form and take down the British outdoor 1500m record, but it’s winning medals this summer that counts. My goal in Birmingham is to lay down a marker for the rest of the season as I prepare for the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.”
Alongside Kerr, the international contingent will be led by newly crowned world indoor 1500m champion Samuel Tefera (ETH), who successfully defended the global title he won in Glasgow in 2018.
The 22-year-old - who defeated Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win gold in Belgrade - is the former world indoor record holder having clocked 3:31.04 at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham in 2019. His outdoor best is 3:30.71 (Monaco, 2021).
