“I think it’s smart that he didn’t sign up, to be honest. “ This is what Josh Kerr had to say in January 2025 about Jacob Ingebrigtsen not showing up in Grand Slam Track. Well, who know the iconic rivalry of Josh and Jacob both on and off the tracks would know what the comment would have ignited! And, and, and this wasn’t the only comment made by Kerr, as he further went on to say, “And if he was in the 800-1500 group, watching him run the 800 would be, I don’t know, it’d be like, you know, a deer on ice.” It sent social media into a frenzy, with fans taking sides. But if you thought Jakob Ingebrigtsen let it slide away, then you are mistaken. HE HIT BACK!
The very next day, without wasting any time, Jakob Ingebrigtsen took an even bigger jib and said, “The day he contributes to the race for world records, I will take him seriously. But only then.” Well, it wasn’t a subtle dig at all, and fans were in for all the fun. And honestly, for Josh to take such a hit from the man who breaks the world record within a month, he must perform terrifically at GST himself. But Josh Kerr’s performance was as absent as Jacob’s presence at GST. Confused?
His first participation came in the 1500m on day 2 of GST. He went up against the likes of Yared Nuguse and Cole Hocker. The result? Surprise surprise. Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, at just 20 years of age, stormed to victory in that event with a clock time of 3:35.18. Josh? He could not even manage a podium finish. With a time of 3:35.61, Kerr was the fifth to cross the finish line. Things didn’t ease up for him on day 3 either!
Stepping into the 800 m, Kerr would have thought he could do something, but all he did was stay behind. Matter of fact, this might be one of the worst races of his career. The reigning 1500 world champions finished last in 800m in the grand slam track. LAST !!! YES, he was the last one to cross the line. The man held a good position behind Nuguse when the race started, but slowly, he lost the lead and finished 8th in the event. He clocked a 1:50.68, about 2 seconds behind position 7 – Mohamed Attaoui.
In the Men’s long-distance race group, the man is not resistered in the top 3. He is at number 7 in the table with 5 points. That is the only difference that he might have made by coming to GST when compared to what Jakob did. The rivalry between the two has always been fierce. And it had gone to such a stretch that Josh Kerr’s capability in cross country championships has been questioned by Jakob inn December 2024. “If you don’t feel like you can perform, you won’t do it….The people that aren’t here are most likely not able to perform in different races.” Alegdelly, this is the comment that prompted Josh to make the ‘deer’ statement.
The two have met in the mile/1500m 12 times throughout their careers (18 if you include heats), including the last five global 1500m finals. Ingebrigtsen holds a 3-2 advantage when it comes to championships, but Kerr has gotten the better outcome in the last two rounds. Of those races, the farthest apart they’ve finished was in 2022, when Ingebrigtsen placed 2nd to Kerr’s 5th – that’s also their biggest time gap at 1.13 seconds. On average, they’ve finished one place and 0.68 seconds apart.
But this time around, Josh Kerr’s words felt short as he himself failed to deliver! And now Josh Kerr has something to say about his GST performance.
Josh Kerr reflects back on his Grand Slam Track Loss
Josh Kerr first talked about his experience at GST. He talked about how the athletes were being treated well. Getting to his performance, he said, “I know the performance is a little bit on edge today, but, you know, for me, I wanted to just be ready for this one and get, you know, as ready as I could. Evidently, I’m a little bit far off right now, so we’ll get there. You know, this next one we’ve got a month, so I expect to be a lot better then. We’re just a little bit behind through the indoor season.” While the debut of the GST did not work in his favor, Kerr is looking for the second slam of the season that is to happen in Miami in May. He also talked of the training in the post-race interview with Citius Mag after the 800m on day 2.
While talking about how he prepared for the weekend, the Brit confessed, “I’m a little bit behind. But we’re going to work through these slams and, you know, with a guaranteed spot in these slams each time, I’m just looking to improve.” The Grand Slam Track has included a whole new way with its debut. Winning one race is not enough for an athlete, they must be the one with the highest points in their race group to be the slam champion. Talking of that, he said, “Just not the performances I’m happy about right now, but we’ll get there.”
The long-distance runner is usually known for his performance in the 1500m, but in GST, he raced the 800 m as well. He opened up about that as well, talking of how it’s a completely different thing to race that distance, but also, racing is all about giving it your all, and he believes he did that. He refused to make an excuse, saying, “It’s just not the performances that I was hoping for today, but it is what it is.” The man finished last in the 800m on day 3 of the Grand Slam Track.
The post Josh Kerr Forced to Eat His Words as Track and Field Star Humbled After Disrespectful Jakob Ingebrigtsen Comments appeared first on EssentiallySports.