Josh Kerr sets out BBC's SPOTY ambitions after winning gold in Glasgow

The Scottish runner is in the form of his life and, two weeks after recording the fastest mile of all time in London, he raced to victory over the same distance at Glasgow 2026.

His triumph at Scotstoun Stadium on Saturday night provided a golden finish to the Commonwealth Games for the host nation but there is more to come from the Edinburgh athlete.

Kerr, 28, said he was “massively disappointed” in 2023 when he was left off the six-person shortlist for Sports Personality of the Year after winning the 1500 metres at the World Championships. The award went to England goalkeeper Mary Earps. This time around he faces competition from the likes of England World Cup star Jude Bellingham, Masters winner Rory McIlroy and Winter Olympian Matt Weston.

Asked if he expected to be on the shortlist this year, Kerr said: “I don't want to get my hopes up too early for this one, but I would love to. It would be an honour for me, and obviously there's been some fantastic sporting heroes for this year, with the Winter Olympics, with the World Cup, and all the rugby that's going on.

“It's difficult to keep up with all these guys, but I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, and hopefully they respect what I've done so far.”

Kerr also hinted that he might have another world record in his sights before the season is out. He made history at the London Stadium two weeks ago, running the mile in 3 minutes 42.66 seconds. His time was 0.47 of a second faster than the 3:43.13 mark set by Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome in 1999.

Kerr plans meeting

Now Kerr is eyeing the Moroccan’s 1500m world record which has stood for 28 years. El Guerrouj ran 3:26.00 in Rome in 1998 and the Scot would love to have a crack at it.

“That's the one we're obviously going to go for,” he said after winning his Commie Games gold. “But I need to respect what the body's capable of. I'm a human being at the end of the day, and there's not many races we can go after it in the next couple of weeks.

“So I'm going to sit down and have a meeting with my coaching staff and see what's possible the rest of the season. I'm good bodily. I'm in a really good spot mentally. I feel okay, but this is taking a big toll for sure. I'm not bringing any injuries into this. I'm fighting fit, but I want to respect how difficult this last couple of weeks has been. So I'll be honest whenever we come up with that plan for sure.”

There are a couple of potential opportunities on the horizon for Kerr. One is the Weltklasse in Zürich on August 27 which is one of the most prestigious meetings on the calendar. There is also the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship, a biennial track and field invitational which will be held in Budapest from September 11-13.

Asked if he planned to race in Budapest, Kerr said: “I believe we can. That's what the decision is going to be in the next week or so, and I will be 100 per cent honest with it. I will come out in the next week and say if I'm going to do it or not.”

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