Josh Kerr is slowly collecting every title the mile has to offer. Whether you call him a world indoor champion, world record holder, or Commonwealth gold medalist, he now has it all. But nothing quite prepared him for standing on the podium in Glasgow, on the track where he learned to race, while listening to “Flower of Scotland.” Twice, he wiped away tears as the emotions hit the 28-year-old hard.

He wasn’t even this emotional after he broke one of the oldest records in track earlier this year in London. That’s because for Josh Kerr, winning gold in only his second Commonwealth Games meant the world to him. Doing it on home turf, in front of his home fans while listening to the unofficial anthem playing? Well, that capped it off, and Kerr wasn’t afraid to admit it.

“You know, we rush through these moments so quickly,” Kerr said in an interview (via Instagram). “I rushed through London as well, and having a medal ceremony like that just slows you right down. You’re flashing through all the hard moments and realizing that you’ve come a long way.

“So yeah, I don’t know, to be able to have Flower of Scotland playing instead of the GB national anthem, it’s just different. And yeah, there won’t be many times in my career that I’ll have that, so I appreciate it.”

Reportedly, the unofficial anthem is deeply rooted in Scottish history, stirring strong national pride while honoring a historic victory over England.

Earlier, Josh Kerr also revealed that when he was a kid, he was given a Commonwealth Games hopeful T-shirt, and he still owns it.

Kerr said, “I grew up in youth academies for Commonwealth Games future hopefuls, and that will never leave me. I still have the T-shirt that says: Scottish Commonwealth Games hopeful! It was a bit of a rough T-shirt back then, but there’s definitely a lot of memories held in it. So, to be able to go out there and represent my country, in my country, in front of a home crowd, in the Commonwealth Games, you know, that’s all I want for my career.” 

“It’s going to be an emotional feeling when I pull that shirt on. I haven’t done it in four years. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, I didn’t do myself justice. Now, it’s time to take pride in the shirt again and represent Scotland as well as I can.”

Josh Kerr finished in 12th place in the men’s 1500-meter final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The race, however, put him to the test, especially pitted against some of the best.

Josh Kerr’s Patience Pays Off in a Physical Fight for Gold

That included three of the last four 1500m world champs in Timothy Cheruiyot, Jake Wightman and Kerr. Add to that wonderkid Cam Meyers, and it’s only right that the fans were excited. Especially because the last time Kerr ran the mile, he broke a 27-year-old world record.

And the race proved tough from the start until about 500m to go. For Kerr, that was especially the case as the home crowd watched their favorite staying among the pack for most of the race. In fact, the first lap was run in a rather slow 59 seconds, with the second lap two seconds slower. Nobody was blinking and then came the moment everyone blinked ‌with 500m of track left.

Both Cheruiyot and Myers took the lead with Josh Kerr positioned badly. It didn’t seem to matter, though, as the Olympian flew down the track after making his way to the outside of the track.

By the time the two leaders realized what was happening, Kerr had left them in his dust. Wightman tried to follow but couldn’t keep up, fell into sixth and settled to watch his old friend claim his first Commonwealth gold.

Kerr said, “It was just about staying patient, not panicking, and knowing there was going to be space there over the last 200 (meters). I just had to take my time and work my way through the box a little bit. That’s racing.”

Kerr made the finish look easy, but the race was anything but. He fought for position early before timing his winning move perfectly.

“Early on for me, it was just staying contained,” Kerr said after the race (via Olympics.com). “I was on the rail, so making sure I kept my wits about me. Obviously, it’s argy-bargy a little bit, but as soon as I started moving, it was easier to let the crowd in, get emotional with it, and start pressing with 300 to go.

“A lot of hard work goes into those performances, and to be able to have a bit of time to enjoy it in the last 100 is a memorable experience for me. To be able to do that in front of a home crowd is everything I want to do.”

Things were so physical that the 28-year-old crossed the line in 3:54.12. That, for perspective, is nearly twelve seconds slower than his world record time. He still finished nearly a second ahead of Cameron Myers and Timothy Cheruiyot.

Yet despite the physical and tactical demands of the race, it was the medal ceremony that stayed with Kerr. Standing on top in Glasgow, listening to Flower of Scotland getting the medal from Scottish First Minister John Swinney, where it all began, gave the gold a meaning no world record ever could.