What happened to Josh Kerr at World Athletics Championships 2025? All about 2023 world champ’s last-place finish in 1500m final

Defending champion Josh Kerr faced a fatal blow during the 1500m men's finals held on the fifth day of the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo. The 27-year-old athlete finished last in the finals in a run time of 4:11.23.

Kerr struggled throughout the course of the race due to a seeming discomfort in his leg and thereby struggled immensely, even with finishing the race, which he eventually did in the 14th position. This was a big setback for Kerr, who was eyeing his second consecutive 1500m world title.

As per reports, the 27-year-old also struggled immensely to take care of the press and media endeavors after the conclusion of the race, suggesting the seriousness of his injury. Notably, Kerr had also suffered a fall during the 1500m semifinals on September 15 after he managed to qualify for the finals after finishing in the second position with a run time of 3:35.53.

Notably, with Josh Kerr's injury in the finals, Portugal's Issac Nader clinched the 1500m men's title in Tokyo, with a close victory over the former's British counterpart, Jake Wightman. Nader clocked 3:34.10 while Wightman trailed in 3:34.12. Kenya's Reynold Cheruiyot finished third during the finals after clocking 3:34.50.

Josh Kerr expressed his admiration for a gold medal before the 1500m finals of the World Athletics Championships 2025

Josh Kerr (Image via: Getty)

Josh Kerr voiced his expectations before the 1500m men's finals. Speaking in an interview before the penultimate match, Kerr expressed his confidence in competing in the finals but also said that he is cautious of the challenges that every World Championship brings.

Additionally, the 2023 world 1500m champion said that he is eyeing a gold medal, and his opponents will have to present a tough fight for him to take the title from him. He said (via BBC):

"I have my work cut out for me, but I feel pretty confident. We're getting places. I would say it's among the most confident I've gone into a world final. But each championships bring their own kind of challenges and fun, and I'll keep doing what I can to show up and medal and go after the gold. It's my title, it will be a real battle for whoever wants to come and take it off of me."

Josh Kerr had a good 1500m form before coming into the World Championships. He had clinched several podium finishes in the Grand Slam Track meets and the London Diamond League.

Edited by Soumik Bhattacharya