World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024: Josh Kerr targets Glasgow gold before Paris 2024 Olympics

Josh Kerr became the first British man to win an Olympic 1500m medal since 1988 with bronze at Tokyo 2020

What will happen on Tuesday 6 August 2024?

The level of conviction in Josh Kerr's immediate response is comparable to someone who has travelled back from the future having witnessed the moment with their own eyes.

"Josh Kerr gets crowned as the Olympic 1500m champion," the 26-year-old Scot tells BBC Sport.

It is that unwavering confidence in his own ability which allowed Kerr to claim his first global title in Budapest six months ago, when he stunned reigning Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to take World Championship gold.

Kerr is a meticulous planner but until Budapest he had never left a global championships completely satisfied, despite becoming Britain's first Olympic men's 1500m medallist for 33 years with bronze in Tokyo.

It has set him up perfectly for a date with destiny in Paris, one he identified as his crowning moment as early as the age of eight after calculating that was when he would be at his peak.

"If you go on my phone, you will already know my tactics. That tells you enough," says Kerr.

"I know exactly what I'll be doing and it means I can work on those tactics in training.

"I will be ready to go when the time comes. I have been visualising that last lap for a long time."

Having broken British legend Mo Farah's world indoor two-mile record this year, running eight minutes 0.67 seconds to beat the nine-year mark, Kerr will next attempt to put on a show at the World Indoor Championships on home soil in Glasgow starting on Friday.

Last year's breakthrough triumph was long in the making and Kerr has since enjoyed reflecting on the difficult days it required to get there as much as that dazzling night by the Danube.

He has had to make significant sacrifices in pursuit of realising his ambition to be the world's best middle-distance runner, relocating to the United States and living away from his fiancee and family.

"I knew it wasn't going to be easy to get to the top, but I knew I had everything it took. I want to pay back my younger self who put in the hard work to get to this point," says Kerr.

"If the goal is to be an Olympic champion, you have to have an element of being addicted to what you do. It is an addiction at this point.

"I have had a taste for it. I want to get as many titles as possible and prove that I am the best in the world."

Competing in sunglasses, Kerr is immediately recognisable on the track. He says they allow him to stand out and show personality, but they also assist his focus.

"When the glasses go on, it's game time," he says.

It meant Kerr's expression was largely hidden as he overhauled heavy favourite Ingebrigtsen to emulate the achievement of compatriot Jake Wightman - his long-time friend who will also target gold in Paris - one year earlier.

But there was no disguising the release of emotion once victory was confirmed and he embraced his parents in the stands.

"With 50 metres to go I'll never forget the feeling of knowing that I had pretty much won the race as long as I stayed on my feet and kept it together," says Kerr.

"It was very special, knowing the people who helped me get there were in the stadium. Everything came together like a Disney story.

"We are in a sport where one person wins and the rest of the field loses. Most people who go to a major championships leave upset or annoyed. They are not the one. I had to ask myself, 'someone has to win this race - why not me?'"

What about the man behind the shades? Kerr describes himself as a driven individual "who doesn't really have much of a filter". He says that can sometimes get him into trouble, but he is simply being himself.

"As a competitor, I just love to win. I love to win more than I hate to lose, so I like to take big swings at things," says Kerr.

"I'll go for it every time and I'm at a point in my career where I can go out and try to win every race I'm in. That allows me freedom."

The men's 1500m final will be one of the most eagerly anticipated events of Paris 2024 after the showdown at the Worlds ignited a rivalry between Kerr and Ingebrigtsen, whose start to the year has been disrupted by an Achilles issue.

Following that encounter the pair have continued to exchange comments, with Ingebrigtsen describing Kerr as "just the next guy" and the Briton saying the Norwegian has "major weaknesses".

"The rivalry between myself and Ingebrigtsen is mostly based on our own self-confidence," says Kerr.

"I believe I am the best 1500m runner in the world. He probably believes he is too. It's a fun balance between two personalities which probably clash a bit.

"I'm all for it and I won't shy away from some competition, so I'm excited for what's to come."

There are interim goals that Kerr is keen to chase before 6 August.

In the arena he grew up competing in, Kerr will race over 3,000m at Glasgow's Emirates Arena on Saturday night as he aims to display the world-beating ability he has since honed in the US.

In the absence of expected Paris rivals Ingebrigtsen and Wightman, he wants to further assert himself as the athlete to beat in this Olympic year.

"I haven't run in front of Scottish fans for a very long time and I don't think I've done myself justice in front of the British crowd in a long time as well," says Kerr, who was 12th in the Commonwealth Games final in Birmingham two years ago.

"It feels like we are coming full circle from 2017, when I was knocked out in the first round [at the World Championships in London].

"I am ready to show off that new-found fitness in front of the British fans and hopefully inspire the next generation a little bit.

"I'm going in with a plan and I believe, if I execute, I will come away with a gold medal."