When you give your best but fate has other plans, the pain cuts deeper than the injury itself. That’s exactly what Josh Kerr felt in the 1500m final. The defending champion saw his reign crumble in heartbreaking fashion after pulling his calf mid-race. “I felt pretty confident going into the final and was just ready to send it, and then with 600m to go in the world final, fully pulled my calf,” Kerr recalled. But quitting wasn’t in his DNA. Despite the searing pain, he fought on, limping across the line in 14th place with a time of 4:11.23. The injury was brutal, so much so that he couldn’t even walk up the stairs to face the media. Later, he revealed it was a stage 2 calf tear. Days have passed since that cruel twist of fate, and Kerr has finally broken his silence, opening up about how he’s coping with the setback and what lies ahead.

In a candid chat with CitiusMag, the athlete revealed that his injury actually dated back to the semi-finals, yes, you heard that right, he was already battling a calf strain before the final. “So what happened to me was, in the last 10 meters or so of the semi-final, there was obviously a lot of hustle and bustle—a big pack of guys trying to get to the line, as racing is. During the fall over the line, I overstretched, kicked my calf, and then strained it with the overstretch and fall.” According to him, it was just a minor scratch, and he fully trusted his medical team for treatment. Yet, despite their care, he lagged in the race and ultimately suffered a torn calf.

“I relied a lot on my medical team, and we got pretty close. I felt pretty confident going into the final and was just ready to send it. Then, with 600 meters to go in the world final, I fully pulled my calf—a grade two, from what I’m being told,” said the athlete. After the whole fiasco, Kerr took to Instagram to explain his situation, mentioning he’d need to lay low for a while to recover. Well, surprise! He’s already bouncing back faster than expected. Talking about his recovery, the athlete revealed, “So yeah, frustrating, and the journey on the way back is going to be an interesting one. I’ve obviously been crutching around for the last four or five days, but I’m already getting better.”

A calf injury typically needs 8–10 weeks to fully heal. But for elite athletes, armed with world-class medical care and expert physiotherapy, recovery can be surprisingly fast, often just 4–6 weeks before safely returning to training. Yet, when it comes to chasing the next big race, patience is everything; stepping back into competition usually requires 6–8 weeks to ensure the muscle has healed properly and to avoid the risk of reinjury.

When Josh Kerr’s childhood friend, Jake Wightman, heard the news, he was genuinely heartbroken, having expected to be by his friend’s side. “Probably the saddest bit for me was I didn’t realise that was happening,” Wightman told BBC Scotland. “I didn’t actually get to speak to him afterwards but I sent him a message last night checking he was OK, and he sent a nice message back. It is not nice seeing a friend in that situation and not being able to showcase what he could do.”

On a warm Budapest night at the 2023 World Championships, Josh Kerr stunned the crowd in the men’s 1500m final, patiently biding his time before unleashing a decisive surge to overtake Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and claim gold. It was a dramatic moment then, and remains unforgettable now, a memory Kerr clearly cannot shake. So, what’s next? Well, it appears that he is looking towards the Olympics.

LA 2028 Olympic Gold entices Josh Kerr

Tokyo 2025 was a bitter chapter in Kerr’s career, not due to lack of effort, but because of injury. Yet, he hasn’t let it dim his ambitions. His medal cabinet already gleams with a world title, an Olympic bronze from Tokyo 2020, and a silver from Paris. Now, all he wants it to add a gold to his collection to complete it. Talking to Olympics.com, the athlete added, “There’s one stat that gets me, to be honest. No one’s ever medaled three separate times in the 1500m at the Olympics.

He further added, “And so it would be a nice storyline for it to be bronze, silver, gold… So can I stay in this sport long enough and stay at the top long enough, where I’m in the conversation to go after the Olympic gold in 2028? Yes, I think so.” Having three Olympic medals in the track and field, the hardest arena, would be a fairy tale endeavor, but for Kerr, it’s not just about the medals but leaving his legacy in the annals of history.

“I’m trying to fight the good fight and show what it’s like to do it the authentic, right way… All that is, for me, is almost just validation to be able to talk to the next generation of athletes and try and be a source of information and help,” said the athlete. That passion was on full display at the World Championships—despite his injury, he finished the race. Now, medalless in the event, his thirst for gold has only grown, and LA 2028 promises the perfect stage for redemption. But can he clinch it? Only time will tell.