"It was a nostalgic moment going after his record" - Josh Kerr reacts after breaking American legend Sydney Maree's 5th Avenue Mile record

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Sep 09, 2024 14:22 GMT

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2024 Paris Olympics silver medalist Josh Kerr recently shattered the 5th Avenue Mile 1500m record. This came during the 43rd edition of the event held on Sunday, 8 September.

Kerr, competing in his second event after the Paris Olympics, registered a run time of 3:44.3 to defend his title successfully and shatter the 43-year-old event record of 3:47.52 set by legendary American long-distance runner Sydney Maree in the first edition of the 5th Avenue Mile in 1981.

Philadelphia's Josh Hoey competed impressively with the two-time Olympic medalist and eventually finished in the second position with a run time of 3:49 while Kenya's Amon Kemboi clinched the third position in 3:50.

Following his triumphant victory in the 5th Avenue Mile, Josh Kerr reflected on the impressive feat he achieved after a disappointing outing at the Zurich Diamond League meet on 5 September.

The 26-year-old remarked that he had broken Maree's NCAA 1500m record during his time at the University of Mexico and also stated that he knows the level of durability it takes to break such records. He said, via Athletics Weekly:

"I said to the meet director beforehand, I took Sydney Maree’s NCAA (1500m) record off him in 2018 when I was running for the University of New Mexico. I know how hard that was when that was the time."

He further added:

"It was a nice, nostalgic moment trying to go after his record today. He’s one of the most successful 1500m runners in the world’s history. Those are the kind of times I’m going after.”

Josh Kerr finishes fifth at the Zurich Diamond League meet in 2024

Kerr at the World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024 in Glasgow (Image via: Getty Images)

Following a successful outing in Paris, Josh Kerr faced a shocking defeat in Zurich on Thursday. The British long-distance runner failed to clinch a podium finish and finished fifth in the event that saw United States athlete Yared Nuguse clinch the top-podium finish.

Nuguse produced yet another solid performance after his 1500m Olympic bronze and registered a run time of 3:29.21 while Kerr was far from his best in Zurich and managed to touch the finishing line in 3:31.46.

Kerr's arch-rival and 5000m Olympic champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen also got redemption over Kerr after the Norwegian's defeat to the Brit in the 1500m event of the Paris Olympics. Ingebrigtsen clinched the second position on the podium behind Nuguse with a run time of 3:39.52. 1500m Olympic champion Cole Hocker finished third in the Zurich event at 3:30.46.