Josh Kerr sends out challenge to rivals ahead of World Athletics Championships 2025 - 'If you want my 1500m title, come get it'

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1500m World Championships title holder Josh Kerr is heading into the new competition in Tokyo later this month full of confidence. While he acknowledged that athletes like Niels Laros, Phanuel Koech, Cole Hocker and others are a strong field to compete with, he believes that he arrives in good form. The 27-year-old Briton thinks that he has been improving even further over the last year.

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1500m world champion Josh Kerr believes that he will show that he is "getting better" than before, and it is his title to lose at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

Kerr, who won the event in 2023, also claimed gold at the World Indoor Championships at 3000m, as well as a silver medal at 1500m in Paris at the Olympic Games last year.

There are other contenders for the win when the event comes around in Tokyo, with 20-year-old Niels Laros, Kenya’s 18-year-old Phanuel Koech, and Olympic gold medallist, America’s Cole Hocker, all in with a shout.

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However, speaking in an interview with The Guardian, Kerr believes he has every chance of coming out on top.

"These guys have run well all season," he said. "That’s fantastic. But I beat Cole every time that I’ve raced him over 1500m this year. I don’t believe I’ve ever lost to Laros. And if you look at how my history has worked, I make a big jump at this time of the season.

"It’s one of those things where people get excited about the new shiny toys. It’s my title. If they want it, they can come get it."

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The 27-year-old is seeing improvements in his own performance, saying he was pleased with how much he has come on in recent months.

"I’m getting better," he explained. "I’ve surprised myself this year at how much better I’ve gotten. I think I’ve stepped up. I took a big step into Budapest. I took another big step out of Budapest into the indoor season and then through the Olympics.

"I had some issues through the fall and winter of 2024, but I’ve taken another step forward where I believe I’m in better shape than I have ever been."

Kerr, however, did acknowledge the talent possessed by Laros, who won the Diamond League final with an impressive performance.

He said: "I see a serious 1500m racer for sure. It seems like he’s got some great tools. Obviously, he’s done well in the age group rankings and has made some big finals in the senior ranks as well. He’s a pretty well-rounded athlete."

With Jakob Ingebrigtsen fit again and Azeddine Habz one of the in-form athletes of 2025, there is enough competition to keep Kerr focused.

"I think we have highlighted probably eight or so that are looking really good," he added. "We’ll have specific plans in place for them. I’ve been working on them for the last four weeks in training. The event is in a really great spot. There’s a lot of different styles and storylines. Over the last few years, we’ve also had this new crop of younger athletes coming up and through."

With his success in 2023 behind him at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Kerr still thinks he has the edge.

He concluded: "I’ve done it before. I know how to do it. I’m in a better place. I’m more excited. I’ve already got one of those gold medals in my safe. When I say easier, I’m not saying the race is going to be easier. I’m not saying the competition is worse. I’m saying that I know how to do it.

"This training camp has been pretty hard. I’m so excited to go out and race those guys over 1500m. It’s probably going to be the easiest thing I’ve done over the last six weeks. So I’m fully 100 percent confident that I have exactly what I need to go out and win. I just need to execute."

How to watch the 2025 World Athletics Championships

TNT Sports will broadcast 30 hours of live television coverage from the World Athletics Championships, available in addition to a daily highlights programme. Streaming subscribers will also be able to watch nearly 50 events live and on-demand via discovery+.

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.

You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

Watch and stream live sporting action, including the World Championships in Tokyo, on TNT Sports and discovery+

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