It’s been the most compelling rivalry in global athletics in recent years and over the next week, the latest instalment of the Josh Kerr-Jakob Ingebrigtsen duel will take place.
This rivalry has been so thrilling for a number of reasons.
Ingebrigtsen had been seen to be the world’s best modern-day 1500m runner. Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020, world indoor record holder and, at times, seemingly a class above the rest of the world, the Norwegian was beginning to develop an aura of invincibility.
However, when Jake Wightman beat Ingebrigtsen to the world title in 2022, that aura was punctured and when Josh Kerr ensured the world title remained in Scottish hands by winning it in 2023, also beating Ingebrigtsen into second, the narrative around the 1500m changed entirely.
No longer was Ingebrigtsen seen as untouchable and soon, it became apparent that not only were Kerr and Ingebrigtsen rivals on the track, they were foes off it.
The dislike between the two has been clear to see, with Kerr accusing Ingebrigtsen of a lack of respect while Ingebrigtsen claimed that Kerr was scared of racing him.
They went into the Paris Olympics with the 1500m final billed as a head-to-head between the two but, against the odds, neither Kerr nor Ingebrigtsen departed Paris as Olympic 1500m champion. Instead, Cole Hocker of the USA upset the odds to win gold, with Kerr taking silver and Ingebrigtsen finishing outside the medals in fourth.
Given their history, the 2025 season was hotly anticipated as the athletics public looked to see how the Kerr-Ingebrigtsen rivalry would develop but so far at least, this summer has been entirely uneventful.
27-year-old Kerr has been in excellent form in recent months. A successful stint in Grand Slam Track was then followed by a season’s best of 3 minutes 29.27 seconds at the London Diamond League and a British title over 5000m.
Ingebrigtsen, on the other hand, has had a very different summer to his Scottish rival. Despite a successful indoor season - he won two golds at the European Indoor Championships in the 1500m and 3000m and then repeated the double at the World Indoor Championships - an Achilles injury has entirely prevented the 24-year-old from racing outdoors this summer ensuring this major championship clash between the two has a considerably different slant to all previous chapters of the rivalry.
The pair, then, head into the 2025 World Athletics Championships, which begin tomorrow in Tokyo, with all eyes on how this next stage of their head-to-head evolves.
Kerr is defending his world 1500m crown while Ingebrigtsen is looking to win his first-ever world title over the distance. Considerable attention continues to be drawn to the Kerr-Ingebrigtsen rivalry and although the pair have laid off the sledging this summer, the dislike remains undiminished.
Which is no bad thing.
It’s a rivalry that’s not only good for athletics, it’s also something Kerr hugely enjoys being involved in, to which anyone who’s watched him talk about Ingebrigtsen will attest.
“This rivalry is good fun, and it works so well because we’re both trying to be the best 1500m runner in the world. And we both have the capability of doing that,” says the Edinburgh man.
“Our personalities clash, that's for sure. I'm just an honest person who does a lot of interviews and speaks my mind and so a storyline was created.
“Naturally, that storyline was kept going because of what we were saying in interviews and going back and forth with each other.
“To be honest, I couldn't tell you half the stuff I’ve said and I definitely don't lose sleep over it.
“At the end of the day, both of us just want to be the best that we can be and be the best in the world.”
It would be folly, though, to assume that the 1500m is purely a head-to-head between Kerr and Ingebrigtsen. There’s a slew of other world-class runners who are in the field including Olympic champion Hocker, new kids on the block Cameron Myers and Neils Laros, Kenyan trio, Timothy Cheruiyot, Jonah Koech and Phanuel Koech, 2022 world champion, Wightman, and French veteran Azeddine Habz, who has the fastest time of the year. However, 2025 world number one, Yared Nuguse, is absent due to his failure to make it through the cut-throat US trials.
Given the line-up, the 1500m is shaping up to be the race of this World Championships but being unduly focussed on Ingebrigtsen is something Kerr is adamant he will not allow himself to do. And given the strength-in-depth of the field, it’s a wise plan.
“I don't want to beat Ingebrigtsen any more than I want to beat Cole Hocker or Jake Wightman or Neil Gourley or any of the guys. I have some very good friends in this sport, but I still want to beat them just as much as I want to beat Ingebrigtsen,” the Scot says.
“I genuinely don't focus more on Ingebrigtsen than on anyone else. Everyone is so good just now, so it's difficult because you have to be so fluid each time you race.
“Ingebrigtsen is obviously very strong and very consistent but there’s also a load of other guys who could win on the day.
“So it's really just about focusing on myself and being ready to go, and if that happens, then normally it's the result I'm looking for.
“This world championship crown is going to be a difficult one to keep but I'm not somebody who likes to finish second or third.”
Alongside Kerr in the 1500m and with aspirations to, at the very least, make the final are Jake Wightman and Neil Gourley while in the women’s 1500m, Laura Muir is competing in her seventh World Championships and will be joined by Erin Wallace, who is making her major outdoor championship debut.
In the 800m, Jemma Reekie is aiming for her first-ever medal at a major outdoor championships but will have her work cut out given she’s facing her GB teammates, Keely Hodgkinson and Georgie Hunter-Bell.
Megan Keith and Sarah Tait make their World Championships debuts in the 10,000m and 3000m steeplechase respectively, Nick Percy is in the discus and Nicole Yeargin is in the 4x400m relay squad.
