Kerr 'did more damage' by finishing world final

Josh Kerr has confirmed that a pulled calf muscle was what caused him to finish a distant last in the 1500m final at the World Athletics Championship last week.

The Olympic silver medallist and 2023 world champion had been expected to be among those competing for medals but pulled up on the penultimate lap, with fellow Scot Jake Wightman finishing second to winner Isaac Nader.

Kerr, 27, revealed the issue originated as a "minor strain" following an "overstretch" near the end of his semi-final.

"I relied a lot on my medical team and we got pretty close," he said on Instagram.

"I felt pretty confident going into the final and was just ready to send it, and then with 600m to go in the world final, fully pulled my calf."

Kerr continued the race, dragged himself to the finish in four minutes 11.23 seconds, and concedes he "definitely did some more damage" in the final 600m.

Subsequent scans have determined he has suffered a grade two tear of the muscle, but the Scot has no regrets about forcing himself to complete the distance.

"My job is to get to the finish line as quickly as possible and that's what I wanted to commit to - you never know what can happen in these races," he added.

"It's frustrating and the journey on the way back is going to be an interesting one but I'm getting better already and definitely feeling the fire for 2026."

Kerr also posted photographs of his injured calf and a video of him doing some work in the pool.

He explained he had kept a low profile since the final to "process" the injury and "to keep the focus where the focus is supposed to be - on the winners and the medals of that race and not of the sob stories".

"Massive congrats to the medallists, massive congrats to Jake - huge result for him and so awesome to see him back on the podium," Kerr said.

"Massive congratulations to the new world champion."