By Charlie Bennett

Copyright independent

Josh Kerr is well-aware he is just 1500m away from what could be legacy defining win – yet the defending champion only wishes the treacherous challenge would be even harder than it already appears.

The 27-year-old is bidding to make British history in Tokyo and emulate Mo Farah and Jess Ennis-Hill by bagging back-to-back World Athletics Championships golds.

If he does so, he will also match the achievement of Seb Coe, the double Olympic champion who is the only British middle-distance runner to win back-to-back global titles in the same event. That is some company to keep.

But how to assess tomorrow’s race is hard to judge.

The favourite is surely Netherlands’ Niels Laros, who is unbeaten at 1500m this season, but there are plenty of others steeling themselves for a crack at his crown.

Timothy Cheruiyot may not be the athlete he once was but won this race in 2019, while USA’s Jonah Koech and Portugal’s Isaac Nader need strong consideration.

Kerr also has two of his great mates in Jake Wightman and Neil Gourley, who complete a Scottish trio, alongside him. Gourley’s 2025 form has been patchy but Wightman has an underdog’s mentality and has looked excellent so far.

No wonder Kerr has said he is prepared for the fight of his life.

Yet, the Edinburgh runner knows there is something missing – or two people to be exact.

His great rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who was knocked out in the first round after an injury-hit year, and Olympic champion Cole Hocker, who was controversially disqualified for elbowing rivals out of the way in his semi, would have made this a bigger blockbuster than it already is.

Kerr and Ingebrigtsen, in particular, seem to work like balsamic and strawberries. The two shouldn’t go together but everything is so much better when they do.

The animosity between them made everything about the Olympic final last summer must-watch TV, even if there was a sting in the tail and Hocker nipped in to beat both.

Kerr is well-aware he and Ingebrigtsen make headlines, but also greater races and he wishes the Norwegian was fit and firing.

“I think Wednesday’s shaping up to be a fantastic event and final, and I’ve done a fair few of them, so I’m excited,” Kerr said, with the race starting at 2.20pm BST.

“I’m looking to race the best at their best, and that’s what creates the storylines and the great races.

“We want all the best runners to be at their best, and he [Jakob] is not at his best, and I’m looking forward to his redemption story and go racing properly against him.

“I haven’t seen the race back, but obviously I saw the results. It’s not what you want to see.

“One of the best 1500 guys in the world not being able to make the semi-final, obviously for injury reasons.

“But I need to focus on me. I have a great feel coming in on Wednesday, I think, so I’ve got my work cut out for me, but I feel pretty confident.”

Though Ingebrigtsen and Hocker aren’t there, Kerr warned his rivals they need to prise the gold medal from him.

Forget needing eyes in the back of his head, Kerr will also need them to the side, up and down – and especially narrowed on his feet after he was tripped up and sent sprawling to the deck at the end of his semi-final run.

A 360-degree view would also be ideal, he insisted, after the big screens in Tokyo’s National Stadium opted to play the women’s hammer final during his semi-final race and he was left unaware of how close his competitors were.

His biggest rival might well end up being one of his teammates.

Wightman, the 2022 world champion, is back in a major final for the first time since winning it in Eugene, with a new coach and a nothing-to-lose approach.

Wightman’s injuries have robbed us of a modern Coe v Ovett rivalry with Kerr, but he has looked good enough so far to suggest a medal could be on the cards.

“I feel good and am just going through the gears,” he said.

He – and the rest – will just hope they can match Kerr’s top speed.

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